s^,. 


Webster  Family  Library  of  Veterinary  Medicine 
Cummings  School  of  Veterinary  Medicine  at 
Tufts  University 
200  Westboro  Road 
Nortti  Grafton,  MA  01 536 


6 
?1* 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1873, 

By  JAMES  R.  OSGOOD  &  CO., 

In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress  at  Washington, 


Boston  i 
Rand,  Averv,  &  Co.,  Elkctrotypers  and  Printers. 


TO 

Ulysses  S.  Grant, 

President  of  the  Republic, 

AND     LOVER     OF     THE     HORSE, 

I  RESPECTFULLY  DEDICATE 

Ei)i&  'Bolnmt. 

THE    AUTHOR. 


AUTHOR'S    PREFACE, 


I  PUKPOSE  ill  this  volume  to  treat  of  the  most  noble  and 
useful  of  domestic  animals,  —  the  horse.  I  desire  to  put 
into  a  small  compass  and  cheap  form  the  result  of  many 
years  of  reading  and  observation,  that  every  farmer's  boy  in 
New  England  may  have  in  his  possession  a  book  which  shall 
contain  within  its  covers  enough  of  instruction  to  qualify  him 
to  breed,  train  and  drive,  buy  and  sell,  horses  intelligently  and 
profitably.  This  is  my  hope.  I  purpose,  also,,  to  lay  before 
him  the  true  principles  of  animal  propagation,  following 
which  the  breeding  of  fast  and  valuable  horses  shall  be  m 
no  sense  the  result  of  chance  or  "good  luck,"  as  the  phrase 
is,  but  of  causes  clearly  understood  and  arranged  from  the 
start.  I  shall  show  him  how  to  raise  a  vicious  or  amiable 
colt,  a  slow  or  fast  one ;  what  to  discard  and  what  to  include 
in  his  selection  of  dam  and  sire ;  and  how,  when  the  perfect 
animal  is  produced,  to  educate  him  properly,  and  bring  him 
forward  in  intelligence  and  docility  until  he  is  able  to  con- 
tribute most  directly  and  fully  to  his  owner's  profit  or 
pleasure.  While  I  shall  advance  and  strive  to  sustain  my 
own  views,  I  shall,  in  all  cases,  give  my  reasons  therefor.  I 
lay  no  claim  to  originality.     I  have  no  hobby  to  advance,  pr 


VI  PREFACE. 

pet  theory  to  advertise  to  the  public.  My  success,  if  success 
attend  my  efforts,  will  be  due  to  the  patience  with  which  I 
have  studied  the  subject,  and  th-e  entire  absence  of  passion 
and  prejudice  in  writing  out  the  views  thus  obtained.  I 
confess  my  indebtedness  to  many  books  and  many  authors. 
The  cumbersome  volume  of  veterinary  practice,  the  quaint 
mediaeval  treatise,  and  the  sensational  pamphlet  of  the  profes- 
sional 'Miorse-tamer  "  who  perambulates  the  country  to-day, 
astonishing  the  uninitiated  with  the  tricks  of  his  trained 
ponies,  have  alike  supplied  me  with  material  for  reflection. 
I  wish  to  give  in  a  condensed  form  the  aggregated  wisdom 
of  all,  to  the  end  that  whoever  may  purchase  this  work  shall 
have  the  sum  and  substance  of  what  is  known  concerning 
the  horse. 

I  do  not  deceive  myself  so  far  as  to  suppose  that  I  have 
wholly  succeeded ;  for  the  subject  is  a  vast  and  intricate  one, 
and  man's  performance  is  seldom  equal  to  his  desire.  Still 
it  may  be  that  enough  has  been  done  to  vindicate  the  motive, 
and  serve  the  public.  If  this  should  be  the  verdict  of  my 
patrons,  I  shall  rest  content.  If  any  should  express  surprise 
that  one  in  my  profession  should  devote  his  leisure  to  such  a 
purpose,  I  have  this  to  say.  That  to  me  it  has  been  a  labor 
of  love  in  the  first  place  for  the  noble  animal  of  which  I 
write,  and  whose  existence  and  services  have  ever  been  and 
are  to-day  closely  connected  with  the  commercial,  social,  and 
religious  development  of  the  country ;  and,  in  the  second 
place,  I  acknowledge  the  presence  in  my  heart  of  a  desire  to 
associate  myself  in  every  honorable  way  with  that  class  of 
my  countrymen,  to  which,  by  birth,  early  education,  and  pres- 
ent aspiration,  I  belong,  —  the  agricultural  class.  Compelled 
by  the  obligation  of  public  life  to  pass  the  larger  part  of  my 
time    in    cities,    my    mind   and    lieart   continually   revert   to 


PREFACE.  Vll 

the  country,  where,  in  the  cultivation  of  the  products  of  the 
earth,  and  the  propagation  and  training  of  the  domestic  ani- 
mals, man  finds,  as  I  judge,  his  most  honorable  and  happy- 
employment.  I  have  no  sympathy  with  that  professional 
exclusiveness  which  forbids  to  the  intellect  the  powers  and 
pleasure  of  general  knowledge  and  universal  studentship; 
nor  do  I  ever  wish  to  see  the  day,  when,  restrained  by  a  false 
sense  of  professional  dignity,  I  shall  refuse  to  impart  needed 
information  to  any  one,  of  whatever  walk  and  pursuit  of 
life,  who  may  be  assisted  and  bettered  thereby.  With  this 
purpose,  and  prompted  by  this  impulse,  I  now  send  this  vol- 
ume forth,  and  bespeak  for  it  the  careful  perusal  of  those 
who  admire  and  are  interested  in  the  noble  animal  of  which 
it  treats. 

W.  H.  II.  MURRAY. 
Boston,  1873. 


AUTHOR'S    ACKNOWLEDGMENT. 


In  sending  this  volume  forth  to  the  public,  the  preparation 
of  which  has  been  a  matter  of  profound  interest  and  pro- 
longed labor  to  me,  I  wish  to  acknowledge  the  courtesy  of, 
and  return  my  thanks  to,  the  scores  of  men,  who,  scattered 
over  the  country,  have  given  me  their  encouragement  and 
assistance  in  my  work.  Especially  would  I  acknowledge 
the  courtesy  of  the  President  of  the  Nation  in  accepting  so 
graciously,  and  with  such  manifest  interest,  the  dedication  of 
the  work ;  and  the  great  services  done  me  personally  by  Rev. 
Henry  Ward  Beecher  in  contributing  the  Introduction,  and 
by  Hon.  George  B.  Loring  in  the  preparation  of  his  most 
interesting:  and  valuable  article. 

It  is  not  often  that  one  can  see  such  a  grouping  of  names 
as  this ;  and  it  does  of  itself  suggest  how  wide-spread  and 
profound  is  the  interest  in  and  affection  for  the  animal  of 
which  they  write.  To  these  gentlemen,  and  to  all  who  have 
aided  me  by  fiivor  and  counsel  in  my  effort,  I  regard  myself 

personally  a  debtor. 

W.  n.  n.  MURllAY. 
viU 


INTRODUCTION, 


My  dear  Mr.  Murray,  — 

What  do  you  expect  ?  I  am  not  competent  to  discuss  the 
mysteries  of  a  training-farm,  nor  the  political  economy  of 
the  horse. 

If,  now,  3^ou  needed  a  word  on  the  joys  of  riding  on 
winged  horses,  or  the  experience  of  long  journeys  over 
prairies  and  through  Western  forests  on  horseback,  I  could 
supply  such  material.  I  also  could  give  you  a  chapter  on 
the  reverse  side  of  the  art  of  selecting  and  buying  horses, 
so  that  one  should  be  able,  five  times  out  of  six,  to  be 
cheated,  and  pay  a  large  price  for  an  unsound  horse.  I 
could  teach  one  how  to  buy  dear,  and  sell  cheap.  But 
these  are  things  aside,  —  the  mere  chaff  and  wastage  of  the 
subject. 

I  really  hope  that  you  have  made  a  standard  book  :  first, 
because  you  are  a  clergyman,  and  it  behooves  all  clergymen 
to  do  well  whatever  they  do  at  all ;  and,  second,  because 
many  men  think  horse-culture  a  theme  unbecoming  a  moral 
teacher.  Not  long  ago,  many  people  thought  that  good  folks 
ought  not  to  own  good  horses  ;  that  a  fast  horse  was  a  sign  of 
a  fast  man ;  and  that  only  publicans  and  sinners  had  a  right 


X  INTRODUCTION. 

to  nags  that  could  trot  inside  of  2.-i0  ;  while  the  righteous 
were  doomed  to  amble  through  life  on  dull,  fat,  family-horses, 
fit  only  for  a  plough  or  a  funeral. 

It  is  part  of  the  same  foolish  prejudice  which  marvels 
how  a  preacher  could  write  a  book  on  horses.  "  Would 
St.  Paul,"  say  they,  "  pause  to  write  on  the  horse  ? " 
But  would  Paid  have  written  upon  astronomy  ?  or  upon 
the  history  of  the  Jews  ?  or  upon  agriculture  ?  or  on  com- 
mon schools  ?  Would  he  have  written  poetry,  or  commu- 
nications for  a  newspaper,  or  magazine-articles,  or  Latin 
grammars  ?  If  he  had  lived  in  our  time,  he  certainly  would, 
if  he  felt  moved  thereto,  and  perceived  that  thereby  he 
might  contribute,  directly  or  indirectly,  to  the  great  inter- 
ests of  political  economy  as  included  in  Christian  civilization. 
Who  finds  fault  with  clergymen  for  contributing  to  the 
welfare  of  society  thi'ough  any  of  the  great  channels  of 
influence  ? 

From  time  out  of  mind,  husbandry  has  been  deemed  a 
proper  pursuit  for  clergymen.  But  what  topic  in  husbandry 
is  more  important,  and  better  worthy  of  dignified  treatment, 
than  the  history  and  culture  of  that  noble  animal,  the  horse  ? 
Society  owes  to  the  horse  a  debt  of  gratitude  a  thousand 
times  greater  than  it  does  to  thousands  of  men  who  abuse 
him.  He  has  ministered  to  progress  ;  has  made  social  inter- 
course possible  where  otherwise  it  would  have  been  slow 
and  occasional,  or  altogether  impossible.  He  has  vntually 
extended  the  strength  of  man,  augmented  his  speed,  doubled 
his  time,  decreased  his  burdens,  and,  becoming  his  slave,  has 
released  liim  from  drudgery,  and  made  him  free.  For  love's 
sake,  for  the  sake  of  social  life,  for  eminent  moral  reasons, 
the  horse  deserves  to  be  bred,  trained,  and  cared  for  with 
scrupulous  care ;  and,  if  a  minister  can  teach  men  how  to  do 


INTIIODUCTION.  xi 

it,  it  is  not  abandoning  his  profession,  but  pursuing  a  remote 
department  of  it,  which  has  too  long  already  been  left  to 
men  who  look  upon  tlie  liorso  as  an  instrument  cliicdy  of 
gambling  gains,  or  of  mere  physical  pleasure. 


IIENIIY  WARD   BKECIIKU. 


Twin-Mountain  House,  Wiiitk  Mountains, 
Aug.  27,  1873. 


CONTENTS, 


chapti:r  I. 

PAGE. 

Points  of  a  Horse,  or  the  Marks  by  which  a  Good  Horse  is  known    .        1 

CHAPTER   II. 
The  Principles  of  Breeding.  — Reasons  why  Breeders  have  not  been 
financially  successful '^ 

CHAPTER  III. 
Breeding.  —  How  to  Succeed ^^ 

CHAPTER  IV. 
The  Sire ®^ 

CHAPTER   V. 
The  Dam ^^^ 

CHAPTER   VI. 
How  TO  train  a  Colt ^^^ 

CHAPTER   VII. 
The  Horse's  Foot,  and  how  to  Shoe  it 226 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
The  Morgan  Horse  :  his  Relation  to  Breeding 292 

AGRICULTURE  AND  THE  HORSE 843 

Pedigrees  of  Noted  Horses 

How  to  LAY  OUT   A   MiLE  TrACK 

Gallery  of  Celebrated  Horses       

INDEX ^^8 


LIST   OP  ILLUSTEATIONS. 


"  The  White  Mare  '* Frontispiece, 

Fearnaught       8 

Live  Oak    .        .        .        . 32 

Taggart's  Abdallah 64 

Thomas  Jefferson 96 

Carenaught        . .        .        .  128 

Rysdyk 160 

Daniel  Lambert 192 

Fearxaugiit,  Jun 224 

Harvard 256 

Robert  Boxner ,        .        .        .  288 

Manchester 304 

Morgan  Abdallah 352 

Star  of  the  South 384 

Lola  and  Foal        .        •        • 416 


THE  PEEFECT  HORSE. 


BY  AV.  H.  H.  MURRAY. 


THE  PERFECT  HORSE. 


CHAPTER   I. 


POINTS   OP  A  HORSE,  OR  THE  MARKS  BY  WHICH  A 
GOOD  HORSE   IS  KNOWN. 

To  a  young  man  starting  out  in  the  business  of 
breeding,  or  to  any  person  about  to  purchase  a  horse, 
nothing  can  be  of  greater  value  than  the  knowledge  of 
those  points  or  marks  which  characterize  a  perfect 
animal.  Not  that  all  of  these  desirable  qualities  of 
bone,  muscle,  and  nervous  organization,  can  be  found 
once  in  a  thousand  times  combined  in  any  single  animal ; 
for  the  perfect  form  in  any  order  of  life  is  rarely  if  ever 
seen.  But,  nevertheless,  a  standard  is  needed  by  which 
the  buyer  may  measure  the  several  animals  inspected, 
in  order  to  ascertain  where  to  place  them  in  the  column 
that  represents  aggregate  excellence,  else  his  blunders 
will  be  many  and  mortifying.  The  question  arises, 
therefore,  — and  it  is  of  the  most  practical  significance  to 
the  young  breeder  and  general  purchaser,  —  Is  there  any 
standard  or  representative  horse,  the  marks   of  which, 


2  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

being  known,  would  enable  one  to  buy  with  intelligence 
and  wisdom  ?  How  can  one  who  has  had  little  if  any 
experience  with  horses  go  to  the  mart  or  field,  and  in- 
vest his  money  in  such  a  way  as  to  escape  the  ridicule 
of  his  more  experienced  companions  and  neighbors,  and 
the  censure  of  his  after-judgment  ?  I  reply,  that  such  a 
standard  can  be  formed,  —  a  standard  which,  when  it 
has  become  known  and  familiar  to  the  mind,  enables  it 
to  discriminate  with  accuracy  touching  the  excellences 
or  deficiencies  of  every  animal  inspected,  and  qualifies  a 
man  to  fix  surely  and  at  once  the  money-value  of  the 
animal  he  wishes  to  purchase.  In  other  vfords,  there 
are  certain  elements  of  nature,  and  certain  peculiarities 
of  form,  and  a  certain  style  of  action,  which  the  perfect, 
the  ideal  horse  invariably  possesses,  and  which,  accord- 
ing to  the  degree  with  which  they  are  possessed  by  an 
animal,  rank  it  in  the  column  of  value  and  price.  Nor 
are  these  marks,  on  the  one  hand,  so  numerous  as  to  be 
beyond  the  capacity  of  the  poorest  memory  to  commit 
them ;  nor,  on  the  other,  are  they  so  latent,  that,  when 
once  pointed  out,  they  cannot  be  perceived  by  even  the 
most  casual  glance.  Nature  does  not  disguise  herself 
from  those  that  seek  to  know  her,  nor  so  mask  her  excel- 
lences that  they  cannot  be  perceived  and  admired  even 
by  the  careless  eye.  I  propose,  therefore,  to  point  out 
to  the  reader  those  marks  which  characterize  the  perfect 
or  ideal  horse ;  and  I  do  so  for  the  sole  purpose  that 
every  boy  who  reads  these  pages  may  have  with  him  the 
knowledge  wliich  forbids  blundering  and  financial  loss 


HOW   TO    KNOW    HIM.  6 

ill  the  selection  of  animals  from  which  to  breed,  or  for 
general  or  special  use.  Nothing  is  more  preposterous 
than  the  idea  which  seems  to  be  current,  that  there  is 
something  mysterious  in  the  art  of  buying  and  selling 
horses  wisely,  which  has  been  hidden  from  the  average 
farmer  or  gentleman,  and  revealed  only  to  jockeys, 
grooms,  and  stable-boys.  It  is  about  time  for  the  pub- 
lic to  realize  that  the  organization  of  the  horse  is  too 
high,  and  his  physical  anatomy  too  intricate,  for  the 
ignorant  and  drunken  to  understand ;  and  that  the  gen- 
tleman's companion,  as  I  hold  the  horse  to  be,  can  best 
be  understood  and  managed  by  gentlemen.  I  will  now 
call  your  attention  to  certain  elements  and  characteris- 
tics of  the  horse  which  the  perfect  animal  must  have. 

The  first,  and  to  my  mind  the  most  essential,  point  to 
be  observed  touching  the  horse,  is  his 

TEMPERAMENT. 

I  ask  you  to  distinguish  temperament  and  temper. 
The  temper  is  an  accident,  the  result  of  education  or 
treatment ;  in  rare  instances,  of  birth :  but  the  tempera- 
ment is  a  law  oi'  mode  of  being  affecting  and  modifying 
the  physical  structure  and  the  nervous  forces.  The 
temper  can  be  modified  or  changed :  the  vicious  can  be 
made  amiable ;  and  the  amiable,  vicious.  Not  so  with 
the  temperament:  that  is  fixed  at  birth,  and  remains  im- 
mutable, dominating  over  the  entire  organization.  Diet, 
training,  treatment  in  sickness,  —  these,  and  much  beside, 
are  suggested  to  the  thoughtful  mind  by  the  tempera- 


4  THE   PERFECT   HORSE. 

ment  of  the  horse.  There  are  four  principles  and  dis- 
tinct temperaments  seen  in  horses,  — the  nervous^  bilious^ 
sanguine^  and  lymphatic.  They  are  by  nature  distinct, 
dissimilar,  and  not  seldom  antagonistic.  Still  they  rare- 
ly are  found  pure,  separate.  In  most  cases  they  are 
found  to  be  blended,  mingled,  co-existent.  Still,  gener- 
ally, one  is  found  preponderating  over  all  others ;  and 
according  to  the  degree  of  this  preponderance  of  the 
one  over  the  rest  is  the  constitution  of  the  animal  being 
inspected  determined.  Let  us  suppose  that  we  are 
examining  a  horse  with  a  nervous  temperament.  Such  a 
horse  will  have  a  large,  full  brain,  well-developed  spinal 
column,  and  nerves  of  acute  sensitiveness.  From  such 
an  organization  come  quickness  of  movement,  nervous 
excitability,  and  great  delicacy  of  feeling.  Such  a  horse 
will  have  rapidity  of  motion,  a  quick,  lightning-like 
gather,  a  restless  ear,  and  a  bright,  animated  counte- 
nance. He  will  be  apt  to  take  the  hills  at  a  jump,  and 
enter  and  leave  his  stable  with  a  spring.  He  will  suffer 
untold  agonies  on  the  application  of  the  iron  curry-comb 
in  the  careless  groom's  hand,  and  will  need  watching 
and  a  taut  rein  on  the  road  to  prevent  his  shying. 
This,  in  brief,  is  the  picture  of  a  horse  with  a  nervous 
temperament.  The  Vermont  Black  Hawk  types  this 
class. 

The  next  in  order  is  the  bilious  temperament.  This 
temperamental  organization  is  associated  with  a  large 
muscular  system.  The  horse  with  a  bilious  temp)erament 
Avill  have  large  bones  and  large  muscles.     The  masses 


HOW  TO  KNOW  HUM.  5 

of   fibrous   fiesli   about   the    quarters    and    shoulders, 
the  shank  and  fore-arm,  will  be  well  brought  out,  and 
well  packed  in.     To  the  hand  they  will  feel  hard  and 
firm.     Such  an  animal  impresses  you  with  the  appear- 
ance of  strength :   you   can  see  written  all  over  him  in 
capital  letters  the  Avord  "  endurance."    He  will  stand  any 
amount  of  work.     In  strength  he  is  an  equine  Hercules. 
Nothing  but  bad  treatment  and  the  passage  of  many 
years  can  break  such  a  horse  down,  or  wear  him  out. 
Such   an  animal  was   the  Old  Morrill  horse;   and  like 
him,  in  a  large  measure,  is  the  whole  Morrill  family,  in- 
cluding his  most  famous  descendant  Fearnaught.     They 
are  all  horses  of  great  muscular  vigor  and  power. 

Consider  now,  in  the  third  place,  the  sanguine  tempera- 
ment 

Sanguine  is  from  the  Latin, — sanguis,  sanguinis, 
meaning  blood.  This  temperament,  therefore,  as  its 
name  implies,  is  closely  related  in  its  origin  to  the  blood- 
system,  and  suggests  a  large  development  of  heart,  lungs, 
and  blood-vessels.  A  horse  with  such  a  temperament  will 
prove  long-winded.  He  will  come  down  the  home-stretch 
with  wide-open  and  capable  nostril.  He  will  not  pant  and 
labor  in  aspiration  at  the  close  of  the  heat.  Whatever, 
in  the  way  of  speed,  he  is  able  to  do,  he  will  do  with 
ease.  Consider,  also,  how  closely  the  blood  and  arte- 
rial system  are  connected  with  the  nourishment  and  sup- 
port of  the  body.  Remember  that  it  is  by  the  blood 
alone  that  the  nutritious  elements  of  food  are  dissemi- 
nated through  the  entire  system,  and  the  needed  suste- 


b  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

nance  carried  to  every  part.  You  observe,  therefore, 
how  vital  a  part  this  order  of  temperament  plays  in  the 
economy  of  the  system,  and  how  prominent  a  place  it 
should  hold  among  those  characteristics  and  qualities 
which  the  purchaser  and  breeder  of  horses  must  observe 
in  order  to  reach  by  an  accurate  analysis  a  true  and 
proper  conclusion  touching  the  value  of  the  animal 
under  consideration.  The  horse  with  such  a  tempera- 
ment will  not  only  have  excellent  lungs,  but  he  will  be 
generally  healthy :  what  he  eats  will  actually  nourish 
him ;  and  day  by  day,  by  exercise  and  food,  will  he 
renew  his  symmetrical  life. 

The  last  of  the  four  kinds  of  temperament  is  the  hjm- 
pliatic.  A  horse  with  this  temperamental  organization  is 
to  be  shunned.  He  will  be  large  in  the  abdomen,  lazy, 
and  inclined  to  lay  on  useless  fat.  He  will  be  sluggish, 
slow-moving,  and  shambling  in  his  gait ;  a  stumbler,  and 
krcker-up  of  dust ;  a  heavy,  fleshy  animal,  —  more  of  a 
pig  than  a  horse. 

I  have  now  enumerated  the  four  kinds  of  tempera- 
mental organization  peculiar  to  horses  as  to  men,  and 
endeavored  to  so  describe  and  illustrate  them  that  my 
youngest  reader  may  know  them  at  a  glance.  They 
teach  us  an  instructive  lesson  ;  none  the  less  so  because 
generally  unnoted  by  those  who  have  attempted,  by 
voice  and  printed  page,  to  teach  us  concerning  the 
structure  and  constitution  of  the  horse.  The  lesson  is 
this,  —  that  by  no  study  of  the  outward  form  can  one 
judge  correctly  of  this  noble  animal.     You  must  push 


HOW  TO  KNOW  HIM.  7 

your  analysis  within,  you  must  question  the  nervous 
forces  of  the  organization,  you  must  knock  at  the  por- 
tals of,  and  actually  gain  admission  to,  the  brain  of  the 
animal,  before  you  can  judge  of  his  value  to  you,  or  the 
place  he  holds  in  the  column  that  represents  compara- 
tive or  absolute  excellence.  You  observe,  also,  that,  to 
the  breeder,  this  question  of  temperament  is  of  vital  sig- 
nificance. The  problem  with  him  is  one  of  judicious 
mingling  of  the  three  essential  temperaments  in  order 
to  produce  the  most  desirable  results.  The  nervous 
temperament  alone  will  not  answer.  Rapidity  of  move- 
ment is  not  enough.  He  must  breed  into  his  colts  mus- 
cular power  ;  and  this  is  represented  by  the  bilious  tem- 
perament. 

But  of  what  avail  are  quickness  of  motion  and  mus- 
cular strength,  unless  to  these  are  joined  capable  lung- 
power,  elasticity  of  the  heart-structure,  and  that  efficient 
arterial  and  venous  development,  by  the  steady  and 
healthy  action  of  which  the  system  can  alone  be  minis- 
tered unto,  the  wasted  fibre  removed,  and  new  nerve 
and  muscular  substance  daily  supplied.  The  true 
point,  therefore,  for  the  breeder  to  consider,  is  this : 
Granted  such  or  such  a  temperament  to  the  mare, 
what  stallion  is  there  whose  temperamental  organization 
is  of  such  a  character,  that  the  two,  meeting  and  min- 
gling together  in  the  foal,  may  produce  in  this  third  or- 
ganization the  harmonious  union  of  the  greatest  number, 
and  in  the  greatest  degree,  of  the  needed  and  essential 
elements?   for  the  relative  proportion   in   which   they 


8  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

exist  will  have  a  marked  efifect  upon  the  life  of  the  ani- 
mal raised,  and  his  fitness  for  the  especial  service  for 
which,  in  the  mind  and  ambition  of  the  breeder,  he  is 
to  excel.  And  while  these  three  temperaments  —  the 
nervous,  bilious,  and  sanguine  —  should  all  exist,  and 
meet  in  happy  union,  in  the  same  animal,  yet  in  what 
proportion  they  should  be  mingled  in  order  to  produce 
this  happy  union  of  speed,  endurance,  lung-power,  and 
healthful ness,  is  to  the  breeder  a  matter  of  momentous 
importance ;  for  on  this,  beyond  all  else,  as  we  think, 
and  trust  our  reasoning  proves,  failure  or  success 
depends. 

Did  the  contemplated  space  of  this  work  permit,  I 
could  show  that  this  matter  of  temperamental  organiza- 
tion of  the  horse  potentially  affects  the  entire  animal,  — 
even  every  minute  point  of  the  physical  structure,  and 
each  separate  part  and  function  of  the  body.     If  the 
temperament  be  an  active,  lively  one,  then  will  the  bones 
be   fine  in  their  texture,  ivory-like,  and  lasting.     The 
muscles,  also,  will  be  influenced,  and  become  wiry,  com- 
pact, and  elastic  as  spiral  wire.     If  the  temperament, 
on  the  other  hand,  be  sluggish,  heavy,  lymphatic,  the 
bones  will  be  spongy  and  porous  in  their  structure,  the 
muscles  flaccid  and  coarse,  and  the  nervous  organization 
low,  dull,  and  inoperant.     I  am  well  aware  that  size,  all 
else  being  equal,  is  a  true  gauge  of  power ;  but  let  it 
never  be  forgotten  by  the  breeder  and  purchaser  of  the 
horse,  that  "all  else"  is  not  equal.     Size  alone  is  no 
measure  of  power ;  for  all  can  see,  even  with  the  most 


HOW  TO  KNOW  HOI.  9 

casual  examination  of  the  subject,  that  the  slightest 
alteration  in  temperament  makes  a  corresponding  altera- 
tion in  the  power  and  efficiency  of  every  individual 
part.  A  horse  does  not  draw  by  virtue  of  his  weight, 
nor  in  proportion  to  his  size.  The  public  scales  and  the 
measuring-tape  can  never  assure  us  how  much  a  horse 
can  draw,  or  how  many  miles  he  can  pull  a  wagon  and 
its  owner  in  a  day.  Muscular  action  and  nerve-force 
must  be  considered ;  and  these  are  both  closely  allied 
to,  and  dependent  on,  the  temperament  of  the  animal. 
The  well-bred  horse,  inch  for  inch,  and  pound  for 
pound,  is  far  stronger  than  the  dray-horse ;  and  old 
Justin  Morgan,  the  founder  of  the  most  wonderful 
family  of  horses  (all  things  being  considered)  this  or 
any  country  ever  saw,  could  draw  logs  that  horses  of 
twelve  and  thirteen  hundred  pounds  could  not  even 
start,  albeit  he  weighed  only  about  nine  hundred 
pounds,  and  stood  barely  fourteen  and  a  half  hands 
high.  It  is  the  amount  of  vital  force,  that  at  the  end  of 
a  stick  of  timber,  or  a  weary  day's  journey  on  a  heavy 
road,  tells  the  story. 

Having  ascertained  the  temperament  of  a  horse  (that 
is,  the  inner  characteristics  of  his  nature  and  being), 
let  us  now  examine  the  outward  conformation,  and  those 
physical  marks  which  meet  the  eye  of  the  buyer.  What 
is  that /orm,  and  what  should  be  the  shape  and  relation, 
one  with  another,  of  the  several  parts  of  the  body,  in 
order  to  secure  in  the  highest  degree  the  things  most  to 
be  desired  in  a  horse  ?     Let  us  begin,  then,  to  pass  in 


lO  THE  PERFECT  HOESE. 

review  those  points  or  cliaracteristic  marks  of  a  horse 
which  assist  the  judgment  in  forming  a  correct  estimate 
of  his  real  worth.  And,  first  of  all,  let  us  carefully 
consider 

THE    HEAD. 

The  head  is  the  glory  of  the  horse,  as  it  is  of  man. 
Through  it  the  vital  forces  look  out  upon  the  scene  of 
their  exercise  and  their  triumph.  The  passions  and 
emotions  use  it  as  their  interpreter  ;  and  every  mood  and 
feeling  run  to  it  for  advertisement.  If  a  man's  soul,  as 
it  has  been  claimed,  can  be  judged  by  his  face,  a  horse 
may  be  known  by  his  head.  Granted  a  certain  confor- 
mation, and  you  will  have  viciousness ;  granted  another, 
and  you  have  amiability.  Next  to  the  human  face,  the 
countenance  of  a  horse  is  most  expressive  of  the  quali- 
ties within,  and  the  most  beautiful  form  of  animal  life. 
How  grave,  how  cheerful,  how  amiable,  how  vicious, 
how  playful,  how  positive  and  determined,  the  counte- 
nance of  the  horse  can  become  !  What  brightness  and 
vivacity,  what  majesty  and  courage,  what  energy  and 
terrible  power,  the  look  and  countenance  of  the  horse 
are  capable  of  expressing !  No  wonder  that  it  has 
always  been  a  favorite  subject  for  the  brush  of  the 
artist  and  the  chisel  of  the  sculptor,  and  deemed  worthy 
by  the  inspired  writers  to  adorn  the  poetry  of  the 
Bible. 

The  first  thing  for  you  to  consider,  reader,  when 
examining  a  horse  in  judgment,  is  his  head.  First  of 
all,  get   a  good  front  view :    observe  the  distance  be- 


HOW  TO  KNOW  HIM.  11 

tween  the  ears,  the  length  and  curvature  of  the  same, 
the  space  lying  between  them  and  the  eyes,  the  eyes 
themselves,  the  cheek-bones,  the  muzzle,  the  nostrils  and 
lips.  Then  step  to  one  side,  and  scan  the  head  in  pro- 
file. Observe  the  way  it  is  joined  to  the  neck ;  its  bal- 
ance and  pose,  the  conformation  of  the  jowls,  the  nose- 
line,  and  the  make-up  of  the  lower  jaw  and  lip.  Do  all 
this  before  you  have  even  given  a  glance  at  the  body ; 
for  by  the  study  of  the  shape  of  the  head  and  the  look 
of  the  face,  beyond  any  thing  else,  will  you  be  able  to 
decide  touching  the  temperament  of  the  animal,  which, 
as  I  have  shown,  dominates  for  good  or  ill  over  the 
entire  organization. 

If  you  wish  to  decide  whether  a  man  is  a  kind 
husband,  a  good  father  and  courteous  neighbor,  honest 
and  industrious,  cheerful  and  happy,  a  delight  to  all  his 
friends,  and  a  useful  member  of  society,  look  at  his 
head,  and  not  at  his  body.  It  is  the  head  and  face  that 
reveal  to  us  the  character  and  relation  of  those  nervous 
and  vital  forces  which  really  represent  the  man,  and  not 
his  legs  or  chest,  or  bone  and  muscular  structure.  So  it 
is  with  the  horse.  He,  too,  is  an  animal  of  high  organi- 
zation, endowed  with  a  large  degree  of  intelligence, 
capable  of  forming  strong  and  enduring  attachments, 
subject  to  moods  and  tempers,  and  distinguished  by  the 
quickness  and  strength  of  his  impulses.  The  right  or 
wrong  adjustment  of  these  forces  represents  his  value, 
and  gauges  the  degree  of  his  worth  or  worthlessness. 
The  bones  and  muscles  are  mere  servants  of  these  high 


12  THE  PERFECT  HORSE. 

and   efficient   forces,  and   used  by  them  at  will   as   a 
slave  is  directed  by  his  master  to  serve  or  kill  his  guest. 
Never  can  a  man  be  a  good  judge  of  a  horse  so  long  as 
he  looks  upon  him  as  an  animal  of  low  organization, 
composed  merely  of  bones,  muscles,  fibre,  and  flesh,  and 
represented  by  these.     Such  a  view  of  swine  is  correct ; 
but  such  a  view  of  horses  is  most  erroneous :  and  yet 
many  buyers  who  deem  themselves  in  every  way  com- 
petent to  select  good  horses,  and  plume  themselves  on 
their  ability  to  "buy  close,"  never  look  farther  into  the 
organization  of  a  horse  than  to  examine  his  legs,  feet, 
shoulders,   quarters,  and  muscles,  —  the  mere  material 
and  loiver  part  of  the  animal ;  while  the  quaUties  which 
really  in  fact  represent  the  horse,  and  decide  his  com- 
parative value,  are  taken  for  granted. 

I  select  the  following  description  of  the  head  of  a 
perfect  horse  from  a  Httle  volume  written  by  James  C.  L. 
Carson,  M.D.,  of  Coleraine,  Ireland,  published  in  1859 
(a  little  book,  by  the  way,  from  which  many  compilers 
of  books  on  the  horse  have  copied  about  all  the  sense 
there  was  in  their  works,  without  giving  him  the  credit 
of  it),  because  I  would  like  to  bring  this  book  into 
notice,  and  because  the  description  harmonizes,  point  by 
point,  with  my  own  ideas  of  a  perfect  head.  He 
says,  — 

"The  head  of  every  horse  should  be  as  small  as 
would  be  in  keeping  with  the  rest  of  his  body.  A 
large,  coarse  head  is  a  defect,  in  every  person's  eye ;  and 
it  has  no  advantages  to  counterbalance  its  deformity. 


HOW  TO   KNOW  HIM.  13 

The  muzzle  should  be  fine,  and  of  a  moderate  length; 
the  mouth  invariably  deep  for  receiving  and  retaining 
the  bit ;  and  the  lips  rather  thin,  and  firmly  compressed. 
A  fine,  tight  lip  is  a  pretty  sure  indication  of  an  active 
temperament,  and  consequently  affords  a  measure  of  the 
energy  and  durability  of  the  animal.  Horses  with 
short,  thick,  flabby  lips,  lying  wide  apart,  are  prover- 
bial for  sluggishness.  The  nostrils  should  be  large,  so 
as  to  be  capable,  when  open,  of  allowing  the  air  to 
have  free  access  to  the  lungs.  In  conformity  with  the 
uniform  condition  of  the  Creator's  works,  it  will  be 
found  that  there  is  a  direct  relation  between  the  de- 
velopment of  the  nostrils  and  the  capacity  of  the  lungs 
for  air.  Hence  arises  the  necessity  of  observing  the 
size  of  the  nostrils.  Capacious  lungs  would  be  of  no 
use  if  the  orifice  which  connects  them  with  the  exter- 
nal atmosphere  were  so  contracted  that  they  could  not 
get  properly  filled.  The  race-horse  must  have  very 
wide  and  dilatable  nostrils  to  admit  a  large  volume  of 
air,  with  the  utmost  freedom  and  greatest  speed,  into 
his  widely  and  rapidly  distended  lungs ;  but  the  horse 
of  slow  work  can  take  more  time  in  his  breathing,  and 
consequently  does  not  require  such  a  very  large  nostril 
as  the  racer,  hunter,  or  steeple-chaser.  Care  must 
always  be  taken,  recollect,  not  to  confound  a  naturally 
well-developed  nostril  with  one  which  looks  large  in 
consequence  of  having  been  kept  in  a  state  of  perma- 
nent distention  by  disease  of  the  lungs  or  air-passages. 
The  muzzle  ought  to  be  fine  a  good  way  up ;  and  then 


14  THE  PERFECT  HOUSE. 

the  parts  should  enlarge  suddenly,  in  order  to  give 
plenty  of  breadth  to  the  under-jaw,  as  well  as  thickness 
from  side  to  side.  This  is  a  point  of  great  beauty,  as  it 
gives  breadth  to  the  jaw-blade,  and  breadth  from  eye 
to  eye,  whilst  the  fineness  of  the  head  generally  is 
maintained.  A  head  that  is  narrow  between  the  eyes, 
and  narrow  on  the  side  of  the  jaw,  is  painfully  disagree- 
able to  the  eye  of  every  judge.  The  space  between  the 
two  blades  of  the  under-jaw  ought  to  be  so  broad  and 
so  deep  as  to  freely  admit  the  lower  edge  of  the  neck 
when  the  chin  is  reined  in  towards  the  counter  ;  but  it 
should  not  be  wider  than  this,  as  it  would  then  appear 
coarse.  If  there  is  sufficient  room  in  this  locality,  the 
horse  can  be  reined  up  to  the  proper  pitch  without 
stopping  up  his  windpipe.  The  face^  on  a  side-view, 
should  be  dipped  in  the  centre  between  the  eyes  and 
the  nose.  This  is  generally  the  case  in  the  Arabian  and 
Enoflish  blood-horse  ;  and  it  is  a  much  more  beautiful 
formation  than  either  the  straight  or  convex  profile. 
However  ornamental  it  may  be  to  the  human  face,  a 
Roman  nose  certainly  does  not  improve  the  appearance 
of  the  horse.  The  line  of  beauty  in  the  one  case  is 
very  diffiirent  from  the  other.  A  dish-faced  horse  is 
admired  on  all  hands ;  but  a  pug-nosed  man,  with  a  pro- 
jecting, upturned  chin,  will  have  some  difficulty  in  car- 
rying off  the  prize  for  beauty.  The  face  must  be  very 
broad  between  the  eyes ;  but  it  should  taper  a  little  as  it 
approaches  the  ears.  If  the  breadth  is  carried  all  the 
way  upwards,  the  top  of  the  head  will  be  too  wide,  the 


HOW  TO  KNOW  HIM.  15 

ears  ill  set,  and  the  horse  probably  sulky.  Now,  in  re- 
spect to  the  head,  it  also  should  be  examined  in  detail, 
for  in  it  are  distinct  organs  having  distinct  uses,  and 
each  contributing  its  share  to  the  proper  understanding 
of  the  animal  to  which  they  belong,  and  to  which  they 
serve.  But,  of  all  these  organs,  perhaps  the  eye  is 
the  most  expressive  and  characteristic  of  them  all. 
Through  it,  in  all  the  different  phases  of  animation  and 
repose,  we  most  directly  behold  the  mind  of  the  horse, 
and  the  character  of  that  disposition,  the  various  moods 
of  which  are  revealed  through  the  eye.  And  this  will 
not  appear  strange,  that,  both  by  its  location  and  office- 
work,  it  is  in  close  and  direct  communication  with  the 
brain.  It  might  well  be  called  the  window,  through 
which  we  can  look,  and  behold  the  activities  going  on 
within,  and  which  would  be  forever  hidden  from  us 
were  this  friendly  window  darkened.  The  eye  of  the 
horse  should  be  kindly,  bold,  full  of  suggestions  of  la- 
tent heat  and  fervor,  but  spread  over  all  a  mild  and 
gentle  look.  I  do  not  favor  myself  an  eye  ringed  with 
white,  for  this  suggests  timidity  or  mischief;  although  I 
have  known  subjects  in  which  this  eye  was  seen,  and  the 
animal  was  at  the  same  time  entirely  free  from  fault. 
Still,  in  the  main,  I  hold  that  this  judgment  is  correct, 
uttered  by  one  wise  in  horse-craft,  that  '  a  horse  which 
is  always  looking  back  so  far  as  to  expose  the  white  of 
the  eye  is  generally  on  the  alert  for  mischief,  and  is  not 
to  be  trusted  with  his  heels.'  " 

As  to  the  size  of  the  eye,  I  suppose  that  eyes  are 


16  THE  PERFECT  HORSE. 

nearly  of  the  same  measurement  in  all  horses ;  but  the 
apparent  size  differs  widely  in  different  cases,  and  this 
difference  springs  from  two  causes  as  we  understand  it : 
first,  whether  the  eye  is  set  Avell  forward  or  back- 
ward as  to  its  position  in  the  socket ;  and,  in  the  second 
place,  to  the  thinness  and  openness  of  the  eyelids,  or  the 
reverse.  The  eye  should  set  well  out,  yet  not  so  far  as 
to  be  exposed  to  outward  injury.  I  think  too  little  at- 
tention is  paid  to  the  color  of  the  eye,  because  from 
this,  as  we  think,  can  be  judged  the  character  of  the 
temper.  A  little  observation  on  the  part  of  the  reader 
will  substantiate  this,  or  prove  us  to  be  in  error. 
As  to  the 

EARS, 

I  would  observe  that  they  should  be  thin,  not  over 
lengthy,  free  from  long  hairs,  curved  a  little  inward  at 
the  point,  and  full  of  vein-tracery.  They  should  be 
rather  close  together  at  the  base,  strongly  set  on,  quick 
and  lively  in  movement,  and  covered  with  fine,  short 
hair.  You  will  never  find  an  indolent,  sluggish,  heavy- 
moving  horse  blessed  with  such  ears. 

I  think  also,  but  to  a  less  degree,  the  color  of  the  hair 
should  be  considered.  I  do  not  think  that  color  is  a 
mere  matter  of  taste,  as  some  assert.  We  know  that 
the  color  of  a  man's  skin  does  assist  one  in  forming  a 
correct  judgment  as  to  his  temperament. 

We  know  that  the  florid  complexion  denotes  the  san- 
guine temperament ;  that  with  the  darker  skin  we  as- 
sociate the  bilious  temperament;   and  the  chalky  hue 


HOW  TO  KNOW  HIM.  17 

points  to  the  lymphatic.  Why  should  this  not  hold 
true  in  relation  to  the  horse?  We  believe  it  does. 
Other  things  being  equal,  I  should  not  select  a  sorrel 
horse,  nor  a  white-haired  horse,  nor  a  jet-black.  I  do  not 
regard  these  as  hardy  colors.  I  should  prefer  rather 
the  rich  chestnut,  the  deep  blood-bay,  or  a  handsome 
brown.  The  former  colors  suggest  scrofulous  constitu- 
tions and  imperfect  blood-conditions ;  while  the  latter 
point  to  fineness  of  bone-texture,  and  perfection  of  the 
venous  system. 

The  portion  of  the  head  lying  between  the  eyes  and 
the  ears  is  worthy  of  the  closest  possible  attention ;  for 
it  is  the  section  occupied  by  the  brain  itself,  — the  seat 
of  all  inteUigence,  docility,  and  motive-power.  This 
section  of  the  head  can  scarcely  be  too  full.  I  would 
never  breed  a  mare  to  a  stallion  deficient  at  this  point 
of  his  structure.  I  want  no  colts  from  a  sire  with  a  flat 
forehead ;  for  such  a  horse  is  a  savage,  sulky,  detestable 
brute.  To  start  with,  he  will  have  no  memory :  he  will 
forget  to-morrow  what  you  taught  him  to-day.  Even 
if  he  wished  to  remember  it,  he  could  not ;  for  he  is 
incapable.  To  a  bad  memory  must  be  added  a  bad 
disposition.  He  is  sour,  cross  and  crabbed,  tricky  and 
malignant.  His  cunning  is  not  playful,  but  mean;  and 
his  tricks  are  tricks  of  cruelty.  No  one  ever  saw  a 
horse,  with  such  formation  of  front,  tractable  and  trusty. 
But  if,  on  the  other  hand,  you  meet  a  horse  with  a  bold, 
prominent  forehead,  a  noble  fulness  at  that  point  where 
the  brain  is  lodged,  you  will  find  him  to  be  of  a  docile 


18  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

and  silky  disposition.  You  can  teach  him  any  thing; 
and,  when  once  taught,  he  will  rarely  if  ever  forget. 
Indeed,  his  great  intelligence  suggests  to  his  owner  a 
caution :  Never  teach  him  to  do  any  thing  that  you  do 
not  desire  him  to  do  always  and  at  all  times;  for  what- 
ever he  has  once  acquired  you  can  only  with  great 
difficulty  eradicate.  I  do  not  wish  to  be  understood  as 
saying  that  every  horse  with  a  fine  brain  development 
is  gentle ;  for  he  may  have  been  trained  under  a  system 
so  essentially  vicious,  that  no  natural  amiability  could 
withstand  its  savage  friction :  but  this  I  do  wish  to  be 
understood  as  saying,  —  that  every  horse  with  this  full 
and  fine  brain  development  is  by  nature  courageous, 
docile,  and  loving ;  and  that,  if  they  ever  become  other- 
wise, it  is  owing  to  the  vicious  management  of  those 
who  have  them  in  charge. 

THE    NECK 

is  the  next  portion  of  the  horse  to  be  considered.  Nor 
do  I  think  that  sufficient  attention  is  paid  by  would-be 
horsemen  to  it.  It  is  evident  that  much  of  the  beauty 
of  the  horse  is  associated  with  the  neck.  If  it  is  too 
thick,  or  too  straight,  or  too  much  arched  and  drawn 
back,  the  entire  appearance  of  the  animal  is  changed 
and  marred.  It  is  also  to  the  shape  of  the  neck  that 
we  look  for  traces  and  proof  of  the  animal's  breeding. 
According  to  its  length,  moreover,  is  he  easy  to  the 
hand  in  driving,  and  safe  in  saddle-work.  In  the  first 
place,  the  head  and  neck  must  have  a  certain  adjust- 


HOW  TO  KNOW   HEVI.  19 

ment ;  and  this  must  be  of  such  a  character  as  to  cause 
the  nose  to  project  forward,  and  out  of  the  line  of  the 
perpendicular:  still  the  projection  must  not  be  too 
positive,  else  the  horse  will  be  what  is  called  "  a  star- 
gazer."  Such  an  animal  not  only  has  a  vicious  appear- 
ance, but  is  difficult  to  manage,  and  is  actually  unsafe ; 
because  the  bit,  which  should  keep  a  safe  purchase  on 
the  lower  jaw,  will  be  drawn  up  into  the  angles  of  his 
mouth,  so  that  the  reins  have  httle  or  no  control  over 
his  course,  and  he  can  go  how  and  whither  he  pleases. 

Concerning  the  length  and  thickness  of  the  neck  I 
have  this  to  observe;  viz.,  the  same  neck  is  not  desira- 
ble in  every  horse,  but  should  vary  somewhat  according 
to  the  service  to  which  it  is  to  be  put.  For  speed  the 
neck  cannot  be  too  light,  provided  that  it  allow  suffi- 
cient room  for  the  passage  of  wind  and  food.  All 
weight  carried  here  is  dead- weight ;  that  is,  weight  that 
does  not  help  propel  the  horse,  and  should,  consequent- 
ly, be  bred  away.  The  model  neck,  in  this  respect, 
is  found  in  the  thorough-bred  English  racer ;  and  to  this 
pattern  the  American  breeder  should  strive  to  briil^  the 
neck  of  the  trotting-horse.  The  Morrill  neck,  the  Ham- 
bletonian  neck,  the  French  or  Canadian  neck,  and,  for 
the  most  part,  the  average  neck  of  the  American  trot- 
ting stallion,  is  by  far  too  gross  and  heavy  either  for 
beauty  or  for  speed.  But  observe  at  this  point,  that, 
while  the  large  neck  is  disadvantageous  for  a  horse  kept 
for  speed,  in  the  case  of  the  harness-horse  and  carter, 
thickness  of  neck  at  the  base,  where  it  enters  the  shoul- 


20  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

der,  is  both  desirable,  and  actually  essential.  This  cau- 
tion should  always  be  kept  in  mind,  that  both  length 
and  lightness  must  not  be  pushed  in  breeding  to  an  ex- 
treme, for  fear  that,  in  so  doing,  constitutional  weakness 
would  be  the  result. 

The  centre  of  the  neck  should  be  decidedly  thicker 
than  either  the  upper  or  nether  edge,  and  grow  in 
thickness  as  it  approaches  the  shoulder ;  for  this  thick- 
ness at  the  centre  of  the  neck  is  suggestive  of  muscle. 
At  the  other  end  (viz.,  at  the  jowls)  the  neck  can  hardly 
be  too  thin.  In  formation  along  the  upper  edge,  the 
neck  should  rise  from  the  withers  in  a  free  and  noble 
curvature,  which,  connected  with  the  desirable  length, 
will  insure  beauty  of  appearance  when  being  ridden  or 
driven,  and  a  mouth  easy  to  the  hand.  Nor  is  this 
length  and  curvature  of  the  neck  a  mere  matter  of 
beauty,  and  easy  subjection  to  the  driver's  will;  but  more 
yet  is  it  desirable,  because  this  formation  is  alone  con- 
sistent with  that  true  balancing  of  the  body  on  the  legs 
by  which  gracefulness  of  motion,  and  freedom  from 
stun#ling,  are  secured. 

We  now  come,  in  our  analysis  and  description  of  a 
perfect  horse,  to  what,  perhaps,  stands  second  only  in 
importance  to  the  brain;  viz., 

THE    CHEST. 

The  reason  why  this  portion  of  the  horse  is  so  impor- 
tant, and  the  accurate  understanding  of  it  so  desirable,  to 
the  breeder  and  purchaser,  arises  from  several  causes. 


HOW  TO  KNOW  HIM.  21 

And,  first,  because  it  is  the  home  of  the  heart.  The 
heart,  please  remember,  is  the  centre  of  the  entire  blood- 
system  of  the  body.  By  the  blood  which  it  circulates 
alone  can  the  structure  be  nourished  and  sustained  in 
vigor  and  health  day  by  day.  By  it,  also,  alone  can  the 
effete  substance  which  is  constantly  accumulating  in  the 
system,  as  the  result  of  every  motion  the  animal  makes, 
be  collected,  and  discharged  from  the  system.  It  is  to 
the  heart,  therefore,  you  see,  that  we  are  indebted  for 
whatever  needed  element  is  added  to  the  system,  and 
whatever  unneeded  and  harmful  element  is  removed 
therefrom.  Heart-health  means  muscular  health,  bone 
health,  universal  health.  Heart-disease  means  weakness 
of  the  muscles,  unreliable  bone  substance,  and  a  more  or 
less  impairment  of  the  entire  system.  Whatever  con- 
cerns the  heart,  therefore,  and  whatever  affects  it,  direct- 
ly or  indirectly,  for  good  or  ill,  is  worthy  of  the  closest 
attention.  Especially  the  chest,  — in  which  the  heart  is 
lodged,  by  which  it  is  protected,  and  which  either 
cramps  it,  or  allows  it  the  needed  liberty  of  action,  — 
as  it  is  properly  or  improperly  formed,  challenges  our 
inspection. 

In  the  second  place,  the  reason  why  the  chest  of  the 
horse  is  worthy  of  the  horseman's  most  careful  study 
is  because  it  is  the  cavity  in  which  Nature  has  located 
the  lungs.  I  shall,  in  another  portion  of  this  work, 
treat  more  fully  of  the  use  and  condition  of  the  lungs. 
But  this  much  I  will  observe  at  this  point :  the  blood 
which  is  circulated  by  the  heart  can  be  vitalized  and 


22  THE  PERFECT   HOKSE. 

ipurified  only  by  coming  in  contact,  in  passing  through 
the  lungs,  with  atmospheric  air.  When  quiet,  the  blood 
in  an  animal's  body  moves  through  the  circulating  chan- 
nels slowly,  and  respiration  is  performed  easily :  but  in 
exertion  the  circulation  is  quickened ;  the  blood  is  pumped 
in  and  shot  out  of  the  heart  with  great  rapidity ;  the 
breathing  becomes  labored,  and  a  fearful  pressure  is  put 
upon  the  lung  substance ;  the  multitudinous  air-cells  are 
dilated,  and  exposed  to  a  strain  which  nothing  but  the 
strongest  possible  texture  can  withstand.  In  addition  to 
this,  the  reader  must  bear  in  mind  that  the  blood  that  is 
brought  back  to  the  heart  after  having  gone  the  rounds 
of  the  system  is  in  an  impure  condition,  and  can  only  be 
purified  by  the  oxygen  taken  with  every  breath  into  the 
lungs ;  so  that  the  lungs  and  heart  work,  as  it  were,  in 
unison,  and  are  mutually  dependent  one  upon  the  other. 
Every  ounce  of  blood  circulated  by  the  heart  must  re- 
ceive a  certain  amount  of  air  from  the  air-cells  of  the 
lungs ;  and,  as  the  rapidity  of  the  circulation  is  gauged 
by  the  degree  of  exertion  put  forth,  it  follows  that  the 
capacity  of  the  heart  and  lungs  decides,  in  a  great  meas- 
ure, the  amount  of  exertion  which  the  horse  can  put  forth. 
To  illustrate :  The  faster  he  goes,  the  greater  the  number 
of  heart-beats  and  the  amount  of  air  required ;  so  that 
the  capacity  of  the  heart  and  lungs  really  decides  (the 
proper  temperament  and  muscular  strength  being  grant- 
ed) the  speed  of  the  horse.  Hence  the  necessity  of 
paying  special  attention  to  the  shape  and  size  of  the 
chest,  in  which  the  heart  and  lungs  are  placed. 


HOW  TO  KNOW  HIM.  23 

I  am  not  writing  a  minute  anatomical  description  of 
the  chest ;  and  I  need  only  say  that  it  is  bounded  on  the 
front  by  the  neck,  on  either  side  by  the  shoulder-blades 
and  the  ribs,  underneath  by  the  breast-bone,  above  by 
the  spine,  and  in  the  rear  by  the  diaphragm,  which  acts 
as  a  division  between  it  and  the  intestines.  Draw  a  line 
from  the  hindermost  point  of  your  saddle  until  it  touches 
the  back-side  of  the  girths,  near  the  breast-bone,  and 
you  see  with  sufficient  accuracy  the  position  of  the  dia- 
phragm. It  is  a  large  sheet  of  muscular  tissue,  reaching 
from  side  to  side  in  such  a  way  as  to  completely  divide 
the  power  separating  it  into  two  great  cavities.  It  is 
pliable  in  texture,  and,  when  moved  backward  or  for- 
ward, lessens  or  enlarges  either  of  the  cavities  between 
which  it  is  drawn.  The  front  one  of  these  two  cavities 
is  occupied  almost  entirely  by  the  heart  and  lungs. 
Here  they  dwell  almost  alone  in  the  home  which  Nature 
has  provided  for  them,  and  which  they  monopolize.  The 
heart  is  small  in  size,  and  alters  little,  whether  in  repose 
or  action,  sickness  or  health.  Not  so  with  the  lungs : 
they  expand  and  shrink  with  every  breath.  In  their 
substance  they  are  highly  elastic,  and  capable  of  being 
enormously  distended ;  and  each  distention  is  followed 
with  a  commensurate  collapse.  To  accommodate  this 
mighty  expansion,  which  results  from  every  aspiration 
made  by  a  horse  when  in  violent  action,  Nature  has 
made  a  wonderful  provision.  When  the  aspiration  begins, 
the  arch  made  by  the  ribs  is  elevated,  and  the  diaphragm 
is  drawn  back,  in  order  that  the  cavity  between  them 


24  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

may  be  enlarged  to  accommodate  the  expansion  of  the 
lungs.  When  the  ribs  are  lifted,  and  the  diaphragm 
drawn  back,  the  lungs  swell  out,  being  inflated,  and  fill 
the  enlarged  chest ;  and  the  air  rushing  into  the  air-cells 
of  the  lungs,  and  then  coming  in  contact  with  the  impure 
blood  waiting  to  receive  it,  purifies  it,  and  is  then  dis- 
charged through  the  windpipe,  from  the  nostrils.  The 
lungs  are  thus  reduced  to  their  former  size,  and  the 
chest  shrinks  to  its  normal  proportion.  This  is  the 
process  of  breathing  ;  and  upon  its  proper  performance 
depend  the  health  and  usefulness  of  the  horse. 

An  old  horseman  has  well  expressed  it  thus  :  ''  Wind," 
says  he,  ''is  the  grand  secret  of  a  fast  horse.  Good 
lungs  will  cover  a  multitude  of  faults ;  whilst,  on  the 
other  hand,  perfection  of  shape  and  form  are  useless 
when  the  wind  is  out." 

The  chest,  therefore,  in  all  cases,  should  be  large  and 
capacious.  In  shape  it  may  vary  somewhat,  according 
to  the  service  to  which  the  horse  is  to  be  put.  If  he  is 
kept  for  slow  work  and  heavy  drawing,  the  chest  may  be 
nearly  circular  in  form,  because  this  shape  is  the  one  for 
strength  and  bulk,  to  receive  and  bear  up  against  the 
pressure  of  the  collar;  while,  at  the  same  time,  sufficient 
room  is  secured  for  that  expansion  of  the  lungs  caused 
by  slow  and  regular  work.  But,  if  the  chest  is  circular, 
let  it  be  at  the  same  time  deep,  or  else  the  lungs  may  be 
cramped.  A  horse  with  a  shallow  chest  is  worthless  for 
any  purpose.  The  rule,  then,  is  this :  For  a  draft-horse, 
a  circular  but  deep  chest ;  but  as  you  pass  through  the 


HOW  TO  KNOW  HIM.  25 

different  degrees  of  speed,  up  to  the  racer  and  trot- 
ter, the  chest  must  increase  in  depth  compared  to  its 
roundness,  until,  for  the  highest  rate  of  speed,  you  must 
have  a  chest  as  deep  as  a  greyhound,  and,  at  the  same 
time,  not  lacking  in  breadth.  Every  breeder  should 
keep  this  rule  in  mind  when  selecting  his  brood-mares 
and  stallion;  for  he  may  be  sure  that  shallow-chested 
parents  never  beget  deep-chested  colts.  In  order  to 
illustrate  the  faultiness  of  the  circular  chest,  an  inge- 
nious writer  has  put  it  thus :  — 

''  Take,  for  example,"  he  says,  ^'  a  piece  of  pasteboard, 
and  form  it  into  a  cylinder  about  six  inches  in  length, 
and  two  inches  in  diameter;  leaving  it  open  at  both 
ends,  so  that  it  can  be  compressed  equally  from  end  to 
end.  Place  one  end  on  a  table,  and  compress  two  of 
its  sides  until  the  cavity  assumes  a  perfectly  oval  or 
elliptical  form,  and  then  fill  it  accurately  with  fine  shot. 
When  it  is  nicely  filled  and  levelled  on  the  top,  re- 
move the  pressure  from  the  sides,  so  that  the  pasteboard 
may  again  form  a  perfect  cylinder ;  and  it  will  be  found 
that  the  shot  is  not  nearly  sufficient  to  fill  the  cavity. 
Now,  as  the  quantity  of  pasteboard  remains  exactly  the 
same  during  the  entire  experiment,  it  is  quite  plain  the 
change  of  capacity  is  owing  solely  to  the  change  of 
form. 

"  Let  us  suppose,  then,  that  a  horse  has  a  perfectly 
circular  chest ;  and  it  will  follow,  as  a  necessary  conse- 
quence, that  the  elevation  of  the  ribs  on  the  side,  in 
place  of  increasing  its  capacity,  will  actually  lessen  it, 


26  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

by  bringing  it  more  or  less  into  the  elliptical  form.  In 
this  case  the  cavity  of  the  chest  would  be  larger  when 
the  breathing  would  be  suspended  than  at  any  other 
time,  because  its  original  shape  was  such  as  not  to  ad- 
mit of  an  increase  of  size  by  any  change  of  form.  The 
flirther  it  would  be  changed  from  the  cylinder,  the 
smaller  it  would  become.  But  if,  in  the  first  instance, 
the  chest  were  a  great  deal  deeper  than  broad,  the  ele- 
vation of  the  ribs  on  the  side  would  just  serve  to  bring 
it  into  the  circular  shape,  which  is  the  most  capacious 
of  all.  Hence  it  must  be  evident  that  depth  of  chest 
is  indispensable  in  all  cases. 

"As  the  lungs  of  the  horse  occupy  a  much  larger 
space  when  he  is  in  active  exercise  than  when  he  is  at 
rest,  we  are  justified  in  concluding  that  he  requires  to 
have  the  power  of  increasing  the  size  of  his  chest  in 
proportion  as  he  is  called  upon  to  increase  his  speed. 
Contrary  to  the  popular  opinion,  the  chest  must,  to  a 
certain  extent,  be  flattened  on  the  sides,  in  order  that 
it  may  be  capable  of  being  changed  from  the  elliptical 
into  the  circular  form.  The  horse  for  very  slow  work 
may  have  his  chest  approaching  the  circle,  because  the 
trifling  elevation  of  rib  which  is  required  by  his  quiet 
mode  of  breathing  will  only  be  sufficient  to  complete 
the  circular  shape.  Whilst  he  may  do  with  this  kind 
of  chest,  it  cannot,  however,  be  considered  advanta- 
geous, as  a  greater  power  of  wind  might  often  be  of 
decided  service  to  him,  and  could  never  be  injurious. 
The  depth  of  the  chest,  when  compared  with  its  width, 


HOW  TO   KNOW   HIM.  27 

must  invariably  increase  in  direct  proportion  to  the  in- 
crease of  speed  and  distance  required  of  the  animal. 
In  the  steeple-chaser  or  the  flat-racer  it  should  be  of 
enormous  depth,  in  order  that  the  elevation  of  the  ribs 
may  assist  in  forming  a  capacious  circle,  for  the  purpose 
of  accommodating  the  rapidly  and  frequently  distended 
lungs  during  the  trying  period  of  the  race.  In  such 
cases  a  round  chest  would  be  of  no  use,  as  the  wind 
would  be  completely  pumped  out  of  the  horse  before 
he  had  gone  half  the  requisite  distance.'' —  Carson  on 
the  Horse. 

The  best  form  the  chest  can  possibly  take  in  a  horse 
used  for  speed  is  the  following:  It  should  be  wide 
above,  moderately  so  below  (near  the  breast  -  bone), 
and  slightly  flattened,  but  very  deep,  along  the  sides. 
Such  a  shape  to  the  chest  will  enable  him  to  trot  his 
mile  in  2.20,  and  be  free  from  pain  at  the  close  of  the 
decisive  heat. 

I  might  pursue  these  remarks  much  farther ;  for  the 
subject  is  profoundly  interesting  to  the  student  of  the 
horse,  and  I  have  by  no  means  exhausted  it :  but  my 
space  is  limited ;  and  perhaps  enough  has  been  said  to 
give  the  reader,  and  young  purchaser  and  breeder,  the 
main,  essential  points  most  worthy  of  attention.  But, 
before  I  pass  to  another  section,  I  caution  all  would-be 
breeders  of  fast  and  enduring  horses,  whether  for  the 
racing  or  trotting  course,  as  also  all  on  the  lookout  for 
a  fast  horse  for  their  private  use,  to  remember  that  that 
portion  of  the  horse  where  Nature  has  placed  the  heart 


28  THE  PERFECT  HOKSE. 

and  lungs  should  receive  at  their  hands  the  closest 
inspection:  for  a  merely  circular  chest,  or  a  narrow, 
pinched,  and  shallow  chest,  does  not  give  heart  and  lung 
room  enough ;  and  without  this  there  can  be  no  high, 
prolonged  rate  of  speed. 

After  the  head,  neck,  and  chest  have  been  duly  in- 
spected, and  their  excellences  or  defects  remarked,  the 
buyer  should  turn  his  attention  to  the 

BONES, 

in  order  to  ascertain  whether  they  supply  the  animal 
with  the  needed  upholding  and  supporting  power,  not 
merely  when  at  rest  or  in  easy  action,  but  when,  in  his 
high  flights  of  speed,  he  delivers  his  strokes  with  the 
energy  of  a  locomotive.  For  when  a  horse,  weighing, 
perhaps,  eleven  hundred  pounds,  comes  rushing  down 
the  course,  the  shock  to  his  bone  structure,  as  represent- 
ed by  his  legs,  is  something  beyond  our  power  to  realize ; 
and  how  such  a  small  column  of  bone  as  the  canon-bone, 
for  instance,  can  sustain  the  blow,  I  have  never  been 
able  to  comprehend. 

The  first  point  for  the  student  of  the  horse  to  bear  in 
mind  is,  that  the  size  of  a  bone  does  not  give  the  true 
measure  of  its  strength,  but  rather  the  size  and  texture 
both.  The  leg-bone  of  a  thorough-bred  horse,  as  all 
know,  is  much  smaller  in  size  than  the  leg-bone  of  the 
cart-horse;  but,  at  the  same  time,  it  is  many  times 
stronger.  The  reason  of  this  is,  that,  in  the  one  case, 
the  bone  is  coarse  and  porous  in  its  texture ;  while  in 


HOW  TO  KNOW  HIM.  29 

the  other  it  is  fine,  dense,  and  compact.  A  section 
from  the  canon-bone  of  a  low-bred  cart-horse,  after 
being  exposed  to  the  action  of  the  atmosphere,  is  seen  to 
be,  when  held  up  between  the  eye  and  the  sun,  spongy, 
porous,  and  full  of  holes :  while  a  section  from  the 
canon-bone  of  a  thorough-bred  horse  is  solid  and  hard 
as  ivory  ;  so  much  so,  indeed,  that  it  will  take  a  polish 
like  a  piano-key.  This  fact  reveals  the  whole  story,  and 
prevents  all  future  blundering.  Of  course,  a  certain 
size  is  requisite ;  but  all  above  the  absolutely  needed 
amount  is  only  unnecessary  weight,  which,  without  giv- 
ing any  assistance  to  the  animal,  he  is  compelled  to 
carry  along.  Now,  when  you  reflect  that  the  differ- 
ence of  even  ten  pounds  in  the  weight  of  two  drivers 
will  lose  the  heavier  di'iver's  horse  the  race,  albeit  he  is 
in  every  respect  equal  to  his  rival,  you  will  readily  per- 
ceive how  important,  when  we  come  to  the  matter  of 
speed,  this  point  of  bone-weight  is :  for  it  is  as  bad  to 
weight  the  horse  in  the  limbs  and  neck  as  it  is  in  the 
sulky ;  nay,  worse ;  for  it  exhausts  the  horse  more  to 
carry  ten  pounds  of  lead,  we  will  say,  fastened  to  his 
legs,  or  tied  around  his  neck,  than  to  draw  it  on  wheels. 
I  advocate,  therefore,  the  breeding  of  colts  with  as  slim 
neck  as  is  consistent  with  constitutional  endurance,  and 
with  as  small  limbs  as  comports  with  strength  ;  for  this 
reason,  if  for  none  other,— because  every  ounce  of  un- 
necessary bone  substance  and  flesh  about  the  neck  is  so 
much  dead-weight  for  the  horse  to  carry.  But  beyond 
this  is  the  question  of  beauty,  which,  none  will  deny, 


30  THE  PERFECT  HORSE. 

points  directly  to  fine-bred  limbs,  neck,  and  head.  I 
urge  all  my  readers  to  remember  this  also,  — that  no  one 
can  be  a  good  judge  of  the  horse,  no  matter  what  his 
pretensions  are,  unless  he  is  perfectly  familiar  with  the 
size,  length,  and  proper  position  of  every  bone  in  the 
skeleton:  for  they  are  the  props  and  levers  of  the 
entire  structure ;  and  on  their  shape,  length,  position, 
and  texture,  the  capacity  of  the  animal  for  any  allotted 
service  depends.     I  will  now  ask  your  attention  to  the 

SHOULDER. 

There  is  no  one  type  of  shoulder,  either  as  to  its  bone 
and  muscular  structure  or  its  length  and  position, 
which  may  be  called  the  perfect  shoulder ;  because,  be- 
yond almost  any  other  part  of  the  horse,  the  shoulder 
is  to  be  considered  in  relation  to  the  service  required  of 
him.  Hence  it  becomes  necessary  for  one  to  make  him- 
self acquainted  with  the  several  kinds  of  shoulder; 
each  of  which,  in  their  way,  is  the  perfect  shoulder  for 
the  work  to  which  it  is  adapted.  This  prime  fact  is 
often  overlooked  by  the  purchaser  and  breeder  in  his 
selection  of  horses  and  brood-mares;  and  hence  the 
more  need  of  some  remarks,  at  this  point,  upon  it. 

A  draught-horse  requires  such  a  construction  of  the 
shoulders  as  to  offer  a  fine  and  abundant  resistance  to 
the  collar,  and  so  shaped  as  to  fit  it  evenly ;  thus  dis- 
tributing the  pressure  over  the  entire  surface,  with 
weight  enough  to  assist  the  hind-quarters  in  moving 
the  enormous  loads  which  the  animal  is  often   called 


HOW  TO  KNOW  HBI.  31 

upon  to  draw.  To  meet  these  several  wants,  Nature, 
whose  results  are  always  such  as  the  highest  reason 
would  suggest,  builds  an  upright,  thick,  and  heavy 
shoulder  formation,  so  rounded  and  filled  out  with  mus- 
cles, flesh,  and  fibre,  that  the  pressure  is  not  borne  by 
that  point  where  it  begins  when  the  horse  "settles  into 
the  collar,"  but  is  carried  up  and  over  the  entire  resist- 
ing surface.  This,  to  a  heavy  draught-horse,  is  a  "per- 
fect shoulder ;  "  and  no  amount  of  excellence  in  the  other 
parts  of  the  animal's  organization  can  make  good  any 
variation  from  this  construction  of  the  shoulders.  Such 
a  horse  will  be  a  "great  puller,"  but  heavy  and  slow  of 
movement,  and  utterly  incapable  of  speed  beyond  a 
kind  of  ox-like  trot.  For  the  purposes  of  lighter 
draught  the  shoulders  should  be  lighter,  less  circular, 
and  more  oblique,  with  a  decidedly  higher  wither; 
for  this  variation  in  the  shoulder  formation  will  qualify 
him  to  do  moderately  heavy  work,  and  at  the  same  time 
enable  him  to  move  more  lightly  and  quickly.  This 
modified  draught-horse  is  the  one  for  general  farm-work, 
and  family-service  on  the  road.  The  old  Morgan  type 
of  shoulder  formation  —  such  as  Justin  Morgan  had,  for 
instance  —  is  the  best  possible  form  for  such  service,  and 
which,  in  connection  with  the  other  excellent  qualities 
he  possessed,  made  that  horse  able  to  move  a  heavier 
dead-weight  than  any  other  horse  of  his  size  of  ivhich 
we  have  any  record. 

The  horse  destined  for  the  saddle  and  carriage  service 
should,  on  the  other  hand,  have  an  altogether  different 


32  THE  PERFECT  HOESB. 

formation.  The  shoulders  should  be  quite  oblique,  and 
the  withers  high.  This  height  of  the  withers  is  essential, 
because  this  conformation  assists  the  horse  in  lifting  his 
fore-quarters  over  impediments  he  may  meet  in  his  course 
in  road  or  field.  No  horse  with  high  withers,  if  other- 
wise well  made,  ever  stumbles,  or  trips  even.  His  action 
will  be  high  and  safe.  The  obliquity  (slope)  of  the 
shoulders  adds  to  his  capacity  to  stride,  and  also  to 
the  rider's  or  driver's  ease.  In  the  case  of  the  rider,  the 
saddle-seat  is  thrown  back  far  enough  from  the  fore- 
shoulders  to  insure  pliancy,  and  to  escape  the  jolt,  which, 
if  seated  farther  forward,  he  would  be  sure  to  receive. 
When  a  horse  with  low  withers  stumbles,  the  rider  is 
thrown  forward  so  that  the  line  of  weight  is  ahead  of  the 
fore-legs ;  in  which  case  it  is  next  to  impossible  for  him 
to  recover  his  horse.  There  are  other  reasons  why  the 
oblique  shoulder  and  high  withers  are  to  be  preferred; 
but  those  already  mentioned  are  sufficient  to  suggest  to 
the  purchaser  and  breeder  what  conformation  of  the 
shoulders  is  most  desirable.  The  law,  therefore,  is,  that 
in  the  case  of  roadsters  and  saddle-horses,  or  gentlemen's 
driving-horses  as  the  phrase  is,  the  withers  should  be 
thin  and  high,  and  the  shoulders  very  oblique.  But  in 
the  case  of  the  horse  to  be  bought  and  kept  solely  for  his 
speed,  or  where  the  breeder  is  anxious  to  breed  a  2.20 
colt,  speed  being  the  sole  thing  aimed  at,  I  should  breed 
doivn  the  luithers  decidedly ;  because,  in  order  to  insure 
the  highest  rate  of  speed,  it  is  essential  that  the  horse 
should  go  close  to  the  ground,  — ''  go  low,"  as  the  saying 


ip 


■r ^  .itiii!itir:|ii!iiii 


now  TO  KNOW  KCM.  33 

is ;  and  this  no  horse  with  high  withers  can  do.  The 
point  is  this,  —  that  a  low-going  horse  loses  less  time  in 
his  stride  than  a  high-going  one  ;  and  this  fractional  varia- 
tion, however  minute,  counts  in  a  race  where  the  horse 
is  timed  to,  and  can  only  hope  to  beat  his  competitor  by, 
the  fraction  of  a  second.  Hence  many  horsemen  of 
close  observation  prefer  a  horse  whose  rump  is  quite  as 
high  as  the  withers,  if  not  a  little  higher ;  and  I  confess 
to  an  agreement  with  them  in  the  matter.  But  however 
men  may  differ  upon  this  point,  still  I  think  all  will  agree 
in  this,  — that  it  is  most  unwise,  in  selecting  a  horse  solely 
for  speed,  to  choose  one  higher  forward  than  behind. 
Such  a  horse  can  never  win  a  race,  where,  in  other 
respects,  his  rival  is  his  equal. 

Be  this,  moreover,  observed,  that  it  is  exceedingly  easy 
for  one  to  misjudge  touching  the  length  and  obliquity 
of  the  shoulders ;  and  this  is  done  in  five  cases  out  of  ten 
when  you  base  your  decision  on  the  appearance  of  the 
withers  and  upper  portion  of  the  shgulder.  The  height 
of  a  horse's  withers  is  not  a  true  index  of  the  position  or 
length  of  the  shoulder-blades,  or  of  the  depth  of  his 
chest.  Many  horses  with  high,  thin  withers,  and  aiopar- 
ently  sloping  shoulders  and  deep  chest,  have,  in  fact,  very 
upright  shoulders,  and  too  little  chest-room  to  accommo- 
date the  heart  and  lungs ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  many 
horses  with  low  withers  and  apparently  circular  shoulders 
have  the'  best  possible  shoulder  conformation  for  wind 
and  speed.  This  is  the  case  especially  with  some  of  the 
French  or  Canadian  trotters,  and  with  the  whole  Morgan 


34  THE  PEKFECT  HORSE. 

family,  whicli,  in  our  opinion,  have  produced  more  rapid 
trotters,  all  things  being  considered,  than  any  other 
branch  of  the  American  trotting  family.  And  in  proof 
of  this,  although  the  data  gathered  are  not  by  any  means 
complete,  and  do  not  show  the  family  to  the  best  ad- 
vantage of  which  it  is  capable,  I  would  refer  the  reader 
to  that  section  of  this  volume  in  which  I  discuss  the 
Morgan  family  at  length. 

There  are  two  bones  which  in  the  skeleton  represent 
the  shoulder,  and  which  are  of  such  importance  as  to 
deserve  prominent  mention  ;  the  uppermost  of  which  is 
called  the  scapula.  This  bone,  beginning  at  the  edge  of 
the  withers,  runs  downward  until  it  makes  an  angle  with 
the  next  succeeding  bone  (the  humerus),  near  the  front- 
breast.  Two  points  in  reference  to  it  should  be  especially 
noted :  first,  it  cannot  be  too  long  for  the  purposes  of 
speed ;  secondly,  its  upper  extremity  should  lie  in  as  close 
as  possible  to  the  ribs  and  spine.  The  scapula  is  a  wide, 
flat  bone  embedded  in  a  great  mass  of  muscles,  and  so 
protected  by  Nature  as  to  be  almost  invulnerable  to  any 
shock  or  wrench.  In  ninety-nine  cases  in  a  hundred, 
''  shoulder  lameness"  is  in  reahty  a  lameness  in  the  foot 
or  lower  bones  of  the  leg,  no  matter  what  the  "  horse- 
doctor  "  of  the  neighborhood  may  say.  I  have  never 
seen  an  instance  of  hond-fide  shoulder  lameness;  al- 
though I  have  seen  scores  of  horses  being  treated  for 
that  complaint.  As  a  peculiarity  of  construction,  and  as 
evidence  of  that  supreme  wisdom  with  which  God 
tlirough  Nature  acts,  it  should  be  noted  that  the  shoul- 


HOTV  TO  KNOW   HIM.  35 

der-blade  is  not  connected  to  the  framework  of  the  body, 
as  all  other  bones  are,  by  the  cartilages  or  joints,  but  is 
attached  to  it  by  means  of  muscular  substance  only.  It 
is  literally  slung  or  wrapped  up  and  held  by  a  mass  of 
muscle.  This  is  the  reason  why  it  is  so  difficult  for  any 
jar  or  wrench  to  hurt  it.  The  upper  edges  of  the 
scapula  cannot,  by  any  pressure  or  blow,  be  driven  up 
against  any  other  bone  (the  spinal  column  or  ribs),  unless 
by  a  blow  that  should  literally  drive  it  out  through  the 
skin,  and  tear  it  from  the  body.  By  this  arrangement, 
Nature  has  amply  provided  both  for  its  own  protection, 
and  also  for  the  ease  of  the  rider,  in  that  the  shock  of 
the  gallop  or  jump  is  thereby  reduced  to  a  minimum. 
A  writer  has  well  said,  ''  If  the  smith  were  aware  of  this 
fact,  he  would  not  trace  to  the  shoulder,  as  he  is  apt  to 
do,  one-half  the  diseases  that  are  located  in  the  foot  and 
leg.  By  referring  the  lameness  to  the  shoulder,  he  can 
account  easily  to  the  owner  of  the  horse  for  the  result 
of  his  bad  shoeing."     Precisely. 

Of  the  second  bone  in  the  shoulder  —  viz.,  the  hume- 
rus —  it  is  not  necessary  for  me  to  speak,  save  to  say  that 
it  should  be  of  good  length,  and  well  slanted  upward 
toward  the  scapula.  Nothing  remains,  therefore,  for 
me  to  mention,  in  connection  with  the  shoulders,  but 
the  muscles. 

These  —  by  which  I  mean  all  connected  with  the 
shoulder  —  cannot  be  too  large  or  powerful,  no  matter  to 
what  use  the  horse  may  be  destined.  Every  ounce  of 
strength  here  tells.     I  like  to  see  a  shoulder  packed  in 


36  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

and  laid  over  with  great  layers  and  masses  of  muscle ; 
none  the  worse,  but  all  the  better,  if  they  reach  up  as  if 
they  would  overlap  even  the  withers.  What  we  want 
in  this  locality  of  the  animal's  frame  is  substance^  quan- 
titij.  Some  admire  thin  shoulders  :  not  I.  Such 
shoulders  look  best  when  you  start  on  a  long  drive : 
they  don't  look  so  well  after  you  have  made  sixty  miles, 
with  ten  more  still  to  make.  Light  fore-quarters  mean 
iceaJc  fore-quarters.  A  horse  has  to  lift  liimself  every 
step  he  takes,  remember :  and  this  is  hard  work  when 
continued  for  hours,  mile  after  mile ;  and  nothing  less 
than  a  splendid  muscular  development  about  the 
shQulder  will  enable  him  to  do  it.  But  be  sure  in  your 
inspection  that  the  thick,  strong  look  of  the  shoulder 
formation  is  owing  to  the  presence  of  muscle,  and  not  to 
the  fact,  as  is  often  the  case,  that  the  shoulder-blades  are 
set  loosely  on  to  the  frame,  and  wide  apart.  This  is  a 
vicious  conformation  for  a  horse,  and  a  sure  evidence 
of  weakness  in  the  fore-quarters,  from  which  no  diet,  or 
care  on  the  part  of  the  owner,  can  ever  deliver  him. 
Hun  your  fingers  under  the  upper  point  of  the  scapula^ 
and  see  if  it  is  set  dose  in  to  the  spinal  column  and  ribs : 
if  it  is,  and  the  horse  still  ''looks  thick"  through  the 
shoulders,  buy  him ;  if  not,  look  farther. 

We  will  now  proceed  to  the  examination  of  the  fore- 
Icf^: ;  and  in  this  fore-le*]:  are  two  bones  to  which  I  wish 
to  call  especial  attention,  —  the  fore-arm,  or  radius,  as  it 
is  sometimes  called,  and  the  large  metacarpal  or  canon 
bone,  as  it  is  popularly  named.     Lying  between  these,  at 


HOW  TO  KNOW  HIM.  37 

the  junction  of  the  knee,  are  the  three  carpal-bones,  of 
which  we  need  not  speak.  In  reference  to  the  fore-arm 
we  observe,  that  it  can  scarcely  be  too  long,  or  too 
heavily  clothed  upon  with  nuscles ;  for  all  the  muscles 
which  move  the  leg  and  foot  are  located  here.  Now, 
please  remember  that  the  muscles  are  the  only  moving 
power  in  the  animal,  and  that  all  the  muscles  to  lift  and 
extend  the  foot  and  leg  are  placed  along  this  fore-arm, 
and  you  will  at  once  conclude  that  the  size  and  fashion 
of  the  fore-arm  is  a  matter  of  the  utmost  importance. 
No  strength  of  shoulder  can  make  good  a  defective  de- 
velopment of  those  muscles  wrapped  around  the  radius  ; 
because  the  strength  above  cannot  make  good  the 
lack  of  strength  below.  Mr.  Youatt  well  says,  that, 
"  whatever  other  good  points  the  animal  may  possess,  if 
the  arm  is  narrow  in  front  and  near  the  shoulder,  flat  on 
the  side,  and  altogether  deficient  in  muscular  appear- 
ance, that  horse  is  radically  defective.  He  can  neither 
raise  his  knee  for  rapid  action,  nor  throw  his  leg  suffi- 
ciently forward." 

The  arm  should  be  large  at  the  point  of  union  with 
the  body ;  taking  a  strong  hold,  as  it  were,  of  the  trunk, 
in  order  to  give  a  sufficient  basis  for  the  attachment  of 
muscles.  On  the  back  part  of  the  top  of  the  ann, 
where  it  joins  the  body,  is  a  projection  of  bone,  called 
the  elbow.  Without  explaining  the  reason  why,  —  be- 
cause it  would  require  an  examination  of  mechanical 
principles  not  within  the  province  of  this  book,  —  I 
would  say,   that  it  is  of  the   greatest  importance  that 


38  THE  PERFECT  HOUSE. 

this  projection  should  be  broad  and  strong,  and  reach- 
ing well  back  from  the  front  of  the  arm.     If  you  will 
examine  closely  the  fore-arm  of  a  horse,  you  will  observe 
that  in  it  are  three  masses  of  muscles,  the  location  and 
use  of  which  are  as  follows :   One  is  placed  on  the  outer 
edge  of  the  fore-arm,  in  front ;  the  second  lies  directly 
behind  it :   and  these  are  employed  to  extend  and  bend 
the  limb.     The  third  lies  inside  of  the  fore-arm,  near  the 
junction  of  the  leg  and  chest.     The  office  which  this 
muscle  fulfils  is  this :  When  the  horse  is  in  motion,  it 
confines  the  arm  to  the  side,  keeps  it  in  a  straight  line, 
and  makes  it  impossible  for  the  heavy  pressure  from 
above  to  separate  the  legs  too  widely.     You  see  that  all 
of  these  muscles  are  of  the  supremest  importance ;  for 
in   them  is  held  the  power  of  carrying  forward  the 
whole  machine  safely  and  swiftly.     Their  duty  is  labo- 
rious.     Nor  can  they  shirk  it:    no  other  muscles  can 
do  their  work.     A  weak  fore-arm,  therefore,  is  a  sad  and 
fatal  defect  in  a  horse  of  whom  any  severe  work  is 
required.     Of  these  three  muscles,  the  first  two  must  be 
both  strong  and  long.     The  stronger  these  muscles,  the 
greater  the  endurance  of  the  horse ;   the  longer  they  are, 
the  greater  his  length  of  stride.      This  is  a  law,  a  disre- 
gard of  which  in  purchasing  or  breeding  will  bring  its 
own  penalty. 

Of  the  canon-bone,  or  leg,  this  should  be  said :  It 
should  be  short,  —  the  shorter  the  better :  for,  if  it  be 
short,  the  fore-arm  above  it  is  likely  to  be  long  ;  which 
is  a  great  desideratum  in  speed.     In  size  it  should  be 


HOW  TO  KNOW  HIM.  39 

small,  but  of  dense  and  compact  substance,  smooth  and 
solid  as  ivory.  I  do  not  care  how  large  the  fore-arm  is, 
no* how  small  the  canon-bone  is,  unless  it  be  so  small 
as  to  amount  to  maleformation.  Active,  energetic,  and 
hardy  people  are  apt  to  have  small  wrists  and  ankles. 
The  prize-fighter's  arm  and  leg,  when  in  his  prime  con- 
dition and  he  stands  stripped  in  the  ring,  are  wonderful 
for  two  things,  —  the  apparent  smallness  of  the  wrist-bone 
and  ankle-bone  near  the  sockets,  and  the  great  mass  of 
swelling  muscles  packed  on  above  them  ;  and  this  is  re- 
garded as  the  best  conformation  for  agility  and  strength. 
Indeed,  large  bones  are  associated  with,  and  found  most 
frequently  in,  men  and  women  of  soft,  flabby,  and 
lymphatic  constitutions.  Especially  does  this  hold  true 
in  the  case  of  speed.  The  Indian  runner  is  never  a 
large-boned  man.  The  deer,  giraffe,  and  greyhound  are 
small  of  limb.  Why  do  men  expect  Nature  to  make  an 
exception  to  this  beautiful  law  in  the  case  of  the  horse  ? 
On  what  principle  that  will  bear  inspection  can  this  dif- 
ference be  argued  ?  "  There  are  not  many,"  says  an  Irish 
writer,  "I  imagine,  who  would  admire  the  human  leg 
with  the  thick  end  of  it  next  the  ground." 

But,  if  the  canon-bone  must  not  be  of  too  great  a  size 
around  it,  it  should  be  wide  when  viewed  laterally,  and 
thin  when  viewed  from  behind.  A  flat,  compact  leg- 
bone,  devoid  of  flesh,  with  the  tendons  standing  well  out 
from  the  bone,  terminating  at  the  knee  in  a  large  flat 
joint,  —  this  width  at  the  knee-pan  affords  plenty  of  space 
for  the  attachment  of  the  necessary  ligaments,  and  also 


40  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

gives  a  good  opportunity  for  tlie  sinews  to  run  over  it. 
I  do  not  care  so  much  for  the  size  of  the  bone  as  I  do 
for  the  material  of  the  neighboring  parts.  The  sinews 
should  be  large,  because  a  large  sinew  is  always  con- 
nected with  a  large  muscle.  Above  all,  it  is  desirable 
that  they  should  be  of  such  firm  texture  as  to  feel  to 
the  examining  touch  like  so  many  distinct  and  closely- 
woven  cords.  If  they  are  swathed  in  a  soft,  puffy 
material,  and  feel  to  the  hand  as  if  incased  in  fat, 
instead  of  being  cordy  and  wire-like,  you  may  well 
beware  of  them.  To  this  may  be  added,  that  the 
sinews  should  be  thrown  out  from  the  leg-bone ;  be- 
cause if  they  do  not,  but  are  tied  down  closely  to  it  by 
the  ligaments  which  bind  them  to  their  place,  they  will 
be  exposed  to  a  dangerous  friction  and  strain.  Such  a 
leg  is  a  bad  leg  to  have  under  any  horse. 

I  would  here  pause  to  observe,  lest  I  should  be  mis- 
understood, that  the  reason  why  the  leg  of  a  cart-horse 
must  be  larger  than  the  leg  of  a  thorough-bred  is  not 
because  the  thorough-bred's  would  not  answer  if  the 
cart-horse  had  it,  but  because  the  cart-horse  does  not 
have  it :  by  which  I  mean,  that,  when  you  do  not  have  fine 
bone  texture,  you  must  have  size  ;  for  sufficient  strength 
to  uphold  the  horse  must,  of  course,  be  there  in  the  one 
form  or  the  other.  And,  since  the  leg-bone  of  the  cart- 
horse is  porous  and  spongy,  it  must  be  larger  in  bulk,  m 
order  to  supply  the  needed  amount  of  strength. 

The  last  portion  of  the  fore-leg  that  I  shall  mention 
in  detail  is  the  pastern.     A  bad  pastern  is  a  great  defect. 


HOW  TO  KNOW  HEVI.  41 

It  should  not  only  be  strong,  but  placed  in  the 
proper  position,  and  at  the  right  angle  of  inclination. 
In  the  horse  of  slow  work  the  pastern  should  be  short, 
and  nearly  upright ;  but,  in  the  horse  kept  for  speed,  it 
should  be  long  and  well  slanted,  in  order  that  it  may  be 
sufficiently  elastic  to  relieve  the  ends  of  the  upright 
bones  of  the  terrible  concussion  which  would  otherwise 
be  given  to  them  whenever  the  foot,  while  the  horse  is  in 
rapid  motion,  is  brought  to  the  ground.  A  saddle-horse 
for  instance,  whose  pasterns  are  short  and  nearly  per- 
pendicular, will  feel  stiff  and  uncomfortable  to  his  rider; 
while  the  jars  and  the  jolts  to  which  he  is  exposed  by 
every  step  he  takes  will  shortly  induce  disease  in  the 
feet,  and  bones  of  the  leg.  But  the  pasterns  must  not 
slope  at  too  great  an  angle,  as  those  of  some  animals  do ; 
for  then  the  weight  of  the  horse  falls  so  far  back  of  the 
foot,  that  the  bones  do  not  help  uphold  the  body,  and 
the  whole  burden  of  support  is  put  upon  those  tendons 
that  run  over  the  back-side  of  the  ankle-joint.  Such 
a  formation  will  invariably  and  speedily  lead  to  the 
straining  and  breaking-down  of  the  back  tendons.  "If 
the  pasterns  are  too  long  and  too  small  in  the  hunter 
and  steeple-chaser,  they  will  not  be  able  to  sustain  their 
weight  in  dropping  from  their  leaps  over  fences;  but  if 
they  are  tolerably  long,  very  thick,  and  well  slanted, 
they  will  have  plenty  of  strength,  combined  with  a  suffi- 
cient degree  of  elasticity.  An  upright  pastern,  whether 
long  or  short,  is  highly  objectionable  in  a  horse  for  either 
saddle  or  harness ;  and  a  weak  one  is,  in  all  cases,  un- 
pardonable." 


42  THE  PERFECT  HOESE. 


THE  FORE-FEET. 

I  do  not  propose  to  anticipate  at  this  point  what  I 
shall  have  to  say  farther  on  in  that  division  devoted  to 
the  construction  of  the  feet,  and  the  manner  in  which 
to  shoe  them.  I  will,  therefore,  now  only  speak  of  the 
outward  conformation  of  the  hoof.  The  foot  should 
neither  be  large  nor  small,  but  of  a  neat  appearance, 
and  medium  size.  I  am  no  friend  to  the  large,  flat  foot. 
I  regard  this  formation  as  a  very  undesirable  one.  It 
suggests  to  me  that  the  companion-bones  of  the  skele- 
ton of  which  it  is  a  part  are  likewise  soft  and  porous. 

It  is  not  the  large,  flat-footed  man  that  can  walk  the 
farthest,  or  leap  the  highest;  and  the  spryest  and  swift- 
est-footed animals  of  the  world  have  small,  upright, 
horny  hoofs.  The  chamois,  antelope,  red  deer,  and  wild 
horse,  all  have  this  formation  of  the  feet.  The  mule  has 
a  hoof  that  many  horsemen  would  call  contracted  ;  and 
yet  who  ever  saw  a  mule  lame  in  the  foot  ?  My  idea  is, 
that  a  medium-sized  and  neatly-proportioned  foot  is  as 
good  a  sign  in  the  horse  as  in  the  man.  A  foot  that  is 
either  exceedingly  large,  or  quite  small,  is,  to  my  mind, 
suggestive  of  disease  in  the  internal  structure  of  the 
foot.  The  great  hue  and  cry  about  "a  wide,  open 
heel,"  is  a  humbug.  The  heels  that  never  look  that 
way  are  those  of  a  Morgan  or  French  horse,  both  of 
which  are  noted  for  foot-soundness.  I  do  not  remember 
that  I  have  ever  seen  an  unsound  foot  under  a  Canadian 
horse ;  and  yet  the  hoof  of  the  Canadian  horse  is  invari- 


HOW  TO  KNOW  HIM.  43 

ably  upright,  nearly  circular,  mule-shaped.  I  commend 
these  suggestions  to  those  who  are  forever  crying  "con- 
tracted feet "  against  a  horse,  unless  he  has  a  foot  large 
and  flat  as  an  old-fashioned  frying-pan. 

Touching  the  shape  of  the  foot,  I  would  say,  the  hoof 
should  be  longer  on  its  ground-surface  than  broad ;  and 
the  breadth  should  be  greatest  directly  across  its  centre, 
lessening  gradually  both  toward  the  heel  and  toe. 
Avoid  a  very  high  heel,  and  also  a  very  low  one. 
Either  extreme  is  objectionable. 

The  outer  surface  of  the  foot  should  be  smooth,  and 
of  fine  texture ;  free  from  rings,  depressions,  or  protru- 
berances.  Brittle  hoofs  shun ;  and  select  the  fine- 
grained, tough-looking  hoof 

The  slant  of  the  hoof  on  its  ground-surface  deserves 
close  attention.  The  true  and  proper  angle  is  about 
fifty  degrees.  If  less  than  this,  and  the  hoof  is  very 
deep  at  the  heels,  it  is  predisposed  to  contraction, 
and  likely  to  become  inflamed.  If,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  reverse  is  the  case,  the  sole  is  likely  to  be  too  flat, 
the  heels  too  much  exposed;  and  internal  weakness 
follows.  A  low  heel  in  connection  with  a  very  sloping 
pastern  is  to  be  especially  avoided. 

The  frog  should  be  large,  elastic,  and  healthy  in 
appearance.  It  should  not  be  allowed  to  become  too 
dry  ;  nor,  on  the  other  hand,  to  be  too  spongy  and  soft. 
It  is  probably  intended  by  Nature  as  a  kind  of  elastic 
cushion,  and  should  never  be  tampered  with.  Let  it 
grow  as  large  as  Nature  permits  ;  knowing  well,  that,  in 


44  THE  PERFECT  HORSE. 

her  adaptation  of  means  to  an  end,  the  good  old  dame 
is  wiser  than  a  whole  college  of  surgeons.  For  further 
remarks  upon  the  subject  of  the  feet,  I  refer  the  reader 
to  the  division  of  this  book  upon  shoeing. 

We  have  now  examined  the  structure  of  the  fore-leg 
in  detail ;  but,  before  Ave  part  with  it,  let  us  contemplate 
the  matter,  for  a  moment,  as  a  whole.  When  examined 
from  the  front,  the  space  or  distance  between  the  fore- 
legs should  be  the  same  from  the  breast  to  the  ground. 
A  horse  so  constructed  will  rarely  be  a  "  speedy  cutter  " 
or  a  "brusher,"  or  go  any  other  way  than  in  a  clean, 
handsome,  straight-forward  manner.  When  viewed 
from  the  side,  the  leg  should  be,  as  nearly  as  possible, 
perpendicular.  If  it  inclines  backward  very  much,  too 
much  weight  will  be  thrown  in  front  of  it ;  while,  if  it 
be  pointed  out  forward,  the  weight  from  above  will  fall 
too  heavily  upon  the  back  tendons,  and  injuries  be  the 
result.  I  agree  perfectly  with  Carson  when  he  says, 
''  The  leg  should  drop  perfectly  straight  from  its  junc- 
tion with  the  shoulder  to  the  ground ;  and  the  point  of 
the  toe  should  come  as  near  as  possible  to  a  straight  line 
under  the  point  of  the  shoulder." 

The  elbow,  the  location  of  which  I  have  already  de- 
scribed, should  be  examined;  for  it  is  by  no  means 
an  insignificant  member.  The  danger  is,  that  it  is  likely 
to  be  pointed  too  far  in  or  out.  If  turned  in,  it  will 
chafe  against  the  saddle-girths  and  belly-bands,  and 
thus  be  a  source  of  constant  annoyance  to  the  owner. 
It  also  compels  a  vicious  knee-action,  and  to  the  turning- 


HOW  TO  KNOW  HIM.  45 

out  of  the  toe  when  the  horse  is  in  motion,  styled 
"  paddling."  The  horse  with  an  elbow  so  placed  will 
also  be  a  "brusher;"  that  is,  he  will  continually  be 
striking  the  toe  of  one  foot  against  the  opposite  ankle. 
When,  on  the  other  hand,  the  elbow  is  turned  out,  the  toe 
is  generally  turned  in  ;  which  is  a  fault  of  construction 
far  worse  than  the  former  one.  Such  a  horse  is  neither 
speedy,  nor  safe  to  ride.  I  do  not  wish  to  be  under- 
stood as  saying  that  no  horse  with  his  toes  turned  in 
was  ever  speedy ;  for  such  instances  are  seen  every  year 
on  the  road  or  track :  but,  in  these  cases,  the  turning-in 
of  the  toes  was  due  to  the  peculiar  way  in  which  the 
hoof  itself  was  set  on,  and  not  to  the  construction  of 
the  elbow.  But,  when  the  elbow  is  turned  out,  you 
will  never  find  speed.  In  support  of  this  opinion 
many  high  authorities  could  be  quoted. 

As  regards  the  knees,  they  should  never  be  bent 
either  forward  or  backward;  although  some  defend  a 
slight  backward  curve,  as  a  sure  sign  that  the  horse  can 
never  stumble,  because,  as  they  say,  "he  is  so  well  back 
on  his  knees."  For  myself,  if  the  leg  must  lose  its  exact 
perpendicular  position,  I  should  greatly  prefer  that  it 
should  incline  forward  rather  than  backward,  because,  by 
this  backward  inclination,  the  back  muscles  and  sinews 
of  the  leg  are  all  interfered  with,  and  positively  checked 
in  their  action ;  while  it  is  a  fact  of  my  own  observation 
and  experience,  as  it  is  of  others  of  wider  observation 
and  larger  experience  than  myself,  that  some  of  the 
very  safest  and  fastest  horses  ever  known  have  been 


46  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

animals  rather  forward  on  their  legs  at  the  knees.  Still 
the  exact  perpendicular  is  the  true  and  desirable  direc- 
tion for  the  leg. 

I  feel  that  I  cannot  do  better,  in  this  connection,  than 
to  lay  before  the  reader  the  opinion  of  one  whose  judg- 
ment I  have  already  quoted  upon  another  matter.  He 
says,  — 

"  I  think  any  person  who  takes  the  trouble  of  opening 
his  eyes  may  see  that  the  safety  of  the  horse's  knees 
depends  chiefly  on  the  slant  of  the  shoulder  and  pastern^ 
together  with  the  method  in  which  the  foot  is  hi'ought  into 
contact  with  the  ground.  On  this  last  point  I  am  at 
variance  with  popular  opinion,  which  says  that  a  horse, 
in  order  to  be  safe,  requires  to  be  a  high-lifter.  I  look 
upon  high-lifting  as  a  very  great  fault.  Just  imagine 
a  man  walking  down  one  of  the  thoroughfares  of  Lon- 
don or  Dublin,  and  lifting  his  feet  at  every  step  half 
way  to  his  knee!  He  would  certainly  gain  a  great 
deal  of  admiration  at  the  expense  of  his  corns,  and 
perhaps  the  point  of  his  nose.  Now,  where  is  the 
difference  between  a  man  and  a  horse,  which  should 
make  such  a  difference  in  the  mode  of  their  progres- 
sion ?  It  is  the  laying-down  of  the  foot  which  renders 
the  animal  safe.  Of  course,  the  foot  should  be  raised 
sufficiently  high  to  prevent  the  toe  from  coming  into 
contact  with  the  ground ;  but  this  is  very  different  from 
what  is  called  high  action.  My  objections  are  intended 
to  apply  entirely  to  those  which  arc  denominated  high- 
steppers.     I  would  avoid  all  such  as  much  as  the  daisy- 


HOW  TO   KNOW   HIM.  47 

cutter.     The  medium  course  is  the  only  safe  one.     If 
the  horse  lifts  his  foot  clear  of  the  road,  and  lays  his 
heel  first  to  the  ground,  he  cannot  fall ;  as  stumbling  is 
usually  occasioned  by  sticking  the  toe  into  the  road,  or 
striking  it  against   a  stone,  just   as  the   foot  is   being 
brouo-ht  down  into  contact  with  the  surface.     A  horse 
seldom,  if  ever,  falls  in  the  act  of  lifting  his  foot ;  simply 
because,  in  that  position,  he  has  no  weight  depending 
upon  it.     He  will  fall  only  when  he  places  the  toe  on 
the  ground  before  the  heel.    Under  these  circumstances, 
a  slight  obstacle  will  bend  the  pastern  forward ;  and,  as 
the  weight  of  the  body  is  now  intended  to  be  thrown 
on  the  limb,    away   he  goes.     Let  the   horse   with   a 
well-slanted   shoulder  and  pastern  throw  his  foot  well 
forward,  and  then  bring  his  heel  first  to   the  ground, 
and  I  will  answer  for  his  safety.     He  will  also  stand 
more  work  than  the  very  high-stepper,  whose  peculiar 
action  is  certain  to  inflame  his  feet,  as  well  as  to  pro- 
mote the  development  of  a  variety  of  diseases  to  which 
the  fore-legs  are  liable.     Of  course,  the  observations  I 
have  made  are  applicable  to   shape  and   action  alone, 
and  have    no  reference  to  those  cases  where  a  fall  is 
caused  by  the  pressure  of  a  sharp  stone  on  a  tender  and 
diseased  foot.     It  must  be  evident,  a  case  of  that  sort 
is  very  different  from  one  of  ordinary  tripping.     The 
one  is  the  result  of  disease ;  the  other,  of  development 
or  form."  —  Carson  on  the  Horse. 

We  have  now  examined  the  head,  neck,  chest,  shoul- 
ders,  and  fore-legs    of  a    horse,   and  pointed  out  the 


48  THE  PERFECT   HOKSE. 

peculiar  formation  and  characteristics  which  should  dis- 
tinguish them ;  and  I  flatter  myself  that  the  reader  who 
has  followed  me  carefully  is  pretty  well  informed  touch- 
ing these  several  parts  of  the  organization.  But  several 
others  still  remain  to  be  examined ;  which  we  will  now 
proceed  to  inspect.  The  next  in  order,  if  not  in  im- 
portance, is  the 

BACK. 

The  first  thing  to  observe  in  judging  of  a  horse,  so  far 
as  his  back  is  concerned,  is  the  length  of  it.  A  long 
back  is  a  weak  back,  the  world  over,  and  in  every  in- 
stance. By  superior  excellence  of  structure  in  other 
respects,  the  weakness  of  the  back  may  be,  in  some 
measure,  made  up  ;  but  the  horse  can  never  be  the  horse 
he  would  have  been  had  his  back  been  a  shorter  one. 
I  do  not  care  how  short  a  horse's  back  is ;  for  it  is  a  sure^ 
evidence  to  me  that  he  can  carry  or  drag  a  heavy 
weight  a  great  distance,  and  not  tire :  neither,  if  he  be 
speedy,  will  two  or  three  seasons  of  turf  experience 
break  him  down,  as  is  the  case  with  so  many  of  our 
speedy,  long-backed  horses.  Old  Morrill  and  Flora 
Temple  are  instances  in  the  past ;  and  the  famous  grand- 
son of  Old  Morrill,  Fearnaught,  and  Taggart's  Abdallah, 
are  good  illustrations  among  horses  now  living.  This 
conformation  of  the  back  is,  in  my  opinion,  a  grave 
objection  against  Young  Morrill  and  Rysdyk's  Hamble- 
tonian.  I  yield  to  both  the  meed  of  great  excellence. 
I  would  speak  as  warmly  in  their  eulogy  as  any  man 
with  reason  could.     But,  in  spite  of  all  their  excellences, 


HOW  TO   KNOW  HIM.  49 

I  still  declare  that  both  of  them  would  have  been 
decidedly  better  horses  had  they  been  coupled  shorter 
and  more  strongly  on  the  back.  If  Young  Morrill  had 
had  the  back  of  his  sire,  —  one  of  the  most  marvel- 
lous specimens  of  perfect  bone  structure  and  muscular 
power  ever  bred,  — he  would  never  have  gotten  so  many 
swayed-backed  colts  as  now  stand  to  his  charge.  The 
same  is  the  case,  in  even  greater  measure,  with  Rysdyk's 
Hambletonian.  We  know  what  he  has  done  in  the 
stud.  We  know,  that,  crossed  on  mares  of  a  certain 
pattern  and  blood,  especially  on  the  daughters  of  Ameri- 
can Star,  the  son  of  the  great  Henry,  he  has  given  us 
trotters  of  the  highest  speed,  and  second  to  none  in 
endurance.  All  this  I  admit,  because  it  is  a  fact.  But 
all  this  is  true  in  spite  of  his  hack^  not  because  of  it : 
and,  where  he  has  gotten  one  colt  closely  and  strongly 
coupled  up  in  the  back  and  loins  (as  every  colt  should 
be),  he  has  sent  forth  five  or  ten  without  this  admirable 
construction ;  nay,  representatives  of  the  other  form. 
You  may  attend  the  fairs  of  the  country,  and  eight  out 
of  every  ten  of  the  Hambletonian  stallions  exhibited 
Avill  present  to  the  eye  this  unfortunate  peculiarity.  In 
reply  it  will  be  urged  that  these  long-backed  horses 
have  an  ''enormous  stride."  I  grant  that  they  do  stride 
a  great  distance ;  but  I  also  notice  that  their  feet  stay 
under  the  sulky  a  long  time.  The  power  to  "twitch 
their  feet  out  from  under  the  wagon,"  as  an  old  driver 
once  expressed  it  to  me,  does  not  belong  to  them. 
You  never  find  it  in  connection  with  a  long  back.     I 

4 


50  THE  PERFECT  HOKSE. 

wish  to  breed  colts  with  an  "  enormous  stride  "  as  ear- 
nestly as  any  one ;  but  I  wish  that  these  colts  blessed 
with  an  "  enormous  stride  "  should  have  the  knack  also  of 
gathering  quickly.  A  long  stride  and  a  quick  recovery 
is  what  I  desire  to  see  in  the  colts  bred  on  my  farm. 
But,  in  respect  to  the  length  of  stride,  I  have  this  to 
say,  —  that  it  is  not  in  any  way  the  result  of  the  length 
of  back.  What  we  wish  is  a  long  stride  and  a  quick 
gather ;  and  the  latter  you  can  never  find  in  connection 
with  a  long  back,  and  the  former  you  can  find  in  connec- 
tion with  a  short  one.  It  is  not  the  length  of  the  back 
which  gives  length  of  stride,  but  the  position  of  the 
pasterns,  the  slope  of  the  shoulders,  and  the  position 
of  the  great  bones  of  the  hind-legs.  There  must  be 
length  somewhere,  I  admit,  or  else  the  horse  cannot 
stride  far;  or,  if  he  attempts  it,  he  will  be  forever 
*'  over-reaching,"  or  '' forging"  as  the  phrase  goes.  But 
where  should  the  length  be  located?  That  is  the  ques- 
tion to  be  answered ;  and  we  say.  The  length  should 
be  located  heloio,  and  not  ahove.  The  length  should  be 
put  in  between  the  shoulder-joint  and  the  hams  of  the 
horse.  There  is  where  it  was  put  in  Flora  Temple,  and 
which  gave  her  such  a  tremendous  stride  for  so  small  an 
animal;  and  there,  too,  is  where  you  find  it  in  Dexter, 
Fearnaught,  and  Taggart's  Abdallah,  whose  stride  on  a 
sandy  track  I  have  measured,'  and  found  to  be  twenty 
feet!  If  that  is  not  an  "  enormous  stride,"  enough  to 
satisfy  any  one,  I  should  be  pleased  to  know  what  is ; 
and  yet  Abdallah  has  a  short,  muscular,    Morgan-like 


HOW  TO  KNOW  HIM.  61 

back,  as  his  sire,  Farmer's  Beauty,  and  his  grandsire, 
Gifford  Morgan,  had  before  him.     There  never  was  a 
falser   theory,  or  one  calculated   to   beget   more   mis- 
chief among  breeders,  than  this,  —  that  we  must  breed 
long-backed  colts  in  order  to  get  length  of  stride.     I 
have  always  noticed  that  the  horses  long  in  the  back, 
and  loosely  coupled  at  the  hips,   are  the  horses  that 
always  come  to  the  judges'  stand  padded  and  swathed 
with  ''pads"  and   "shields"  and  "protectors"  enough 
to  stock  a  small-sized  horse- clothing  establishment.     The 
reason  is,  because  there  is  too  Httle  strength  in  the  back 
and  loins  to  deliver  their  strokes  in  a  straight  line,  or  to 
"catch"  quickly  and  handily  when  they  "break."     It  is 
at  such  a  time,  —  the  supreme  hour  of  the  animal's  life, 
perhaps,  —  when  fame  and  money  hang  evenly  in  the 
balance,  and  ten  thousand   eyes  are  watching  him,  and 
the  horse  is  going  at  the  top  of  his  speed,  that  forma- 
tion, and  perfection  of  organic  structure,  tell.     A,t  such 
an  hour  I  desire  no  long-backed  animal  to  represent  me. 
And  in  this  connection  I  would  observe,  that  it  is  sur- 
prising that  so  little  attention  is  paid  by  breeders  and 
trainers  to  this  matter  of  strengthening  the  back.     I  see 
no  reason  why  the  back  of  a  horse  may  not,  by  judicious 
treatment,  be  strengthened,  as  can  be  done  in  the  case 
of  the  man.     Dio  Lewis  will  take  a  weak-backed  man, 
and  in  two  years,  yes,  in  half  that  time,  more  than  double 
the  strength  of  his  back.     He  will  make  a  man  with  a 
weak  back  by  nature  have  a  strong  one.     If  the  muscles 
in  the  back  of  a  man  can  be  thus  enlarged  and  developed, 


52  THE  PERFECT  HOUSE. 

why  cannot  the  same  be  done  in  the  case  of  a  horse,  and 
by  the  same  method;  viz.,  the  imposition  of  weights, 
gradually  increased,  day  by  day,  up  to  the  maximum  of 
safety  ? 

Next  in  importance  to  the  shortness  of  the  back  is 
the  width  of  the  bone  formation  over  the  kidneys.     At 
this  point,  viewed  from  the  side,  the  back  should  be 
seen  to  rise  a  little,  —  not  too  much.     I  do  not  fancy  a 
''roach-backed"  horse,  but  with  a  gentle,  easy  eleva- 
tion.    Above  all,  beware  of  a  horse  with  any  considera- 
ble depression  at  this  point.      The  ribs   should   stand 
straight  out  from  the  backbone,  and  be  long,   giving 
great  width  over  the  kidneys,  and  a  good  chance  for  the 
muscles  to  take  hold  of   the   framework.      I    do   not 
fancy  any  very  considerable  dip  behind   the  withers. 
Such  a  formation  of  the  spinal  column  and  ribs  is  sure 
to  cramp  and  interfere  with  the  heart  and  lungs  within 
the  ch£st,  which,  above  all,  is  to  be  avoided  :  for,  with- 
out a  well-developed   and  well-located   centre   to   his 
blood-system,  the  horse  cannot  have  health  ;   and,  with- 
out lung-room,  he  cannot  have  speed  over  any  but  short 
distances.     It  is  lungs  more  than  any  thing  else  that 
decide  how  fast  a  horse  can  trot.     (See  section  on  lungs.) 
We  now  come  to  the  examination  of  the  most  essen- 
tial portion  of  the  horse's  frame,  —  the 

HIND-QUARTERS. 

Here  it  is  that  the  strength  and  speed  lie.     The  fore- 
legs are  for  supports :  they  uphold  the  body,  neck,  and 


HOW  TO   KNOW   HEM.  -    53 

head, — that  is  all.  They  add  nothing,  or  next  to  noth- 
ing, to  the  motive-power.  They  must  be  sound,  and 
well  sustained  with  muscles,  or  they  cannot  uphold  the 
superincumbent  weight,  or  move  themselves  with  the 
needed  quickness.  But  with  this  their  function  ends. 
They  appropriate  their  own  power.  They  are,  as  it 
were,  altogether  selfish.  Not  so  with  the  hind-legs. 
They  are  the  great  motors  of  the  body.  They  push 
the  entire  frame  through  the  s,iv.  They  set  the  heavy 
wagon  behind  in  motion.  Watch  a  horse  as  he  is  about 
to  start  a  load.  How  does  he  do  it?  Where  is  the 
power  to  j^usJi  located  ?  Evidently  in  his  hind  quarters 
and  legs.  The  most  casual  glance,  as  the  horse  lowers 
himself  to  his  work,  will  reveal  this  fact.  Watch  a 
horse  in  the  exercise-field;  observe  him  as  he  rears 
for  the  leap,  and  see  him  as  he  goes  into  the  air. 
How  did  he  leave  the  ground  ?  What  launched  him  up 
along  that  splendid  leap  ?  There  can  be  but  one  an- 
swer :  The  hind-legs  do  it  all.  Hence  the  need  of  power 
at  this  point.  There  cannot  be  too  much ;  for  the  effort 
that  he  is  called  upon  to  make  at  times  is  prodigious. 
It  is  well  authenticated  that  the  celebrated  horse 
Yainhope  made  a  leap  thirty-four  feet  in  length.  The 
English  hunters  will  clear  a  strong,  six-barred  gate  with 
a  hundred  and  ninety  pounds  in  the  saddle.  Such  feats 
cannot  be  done  unless  the  bone  structure  and  muscular 
development  of  the  hind-quarters  are  simply  perfect. 
Let  us,  therefore,  examine  this  supremely  important  sec- 
tion of  the  horse's  body,  in  order  to  ascertain  what  must 


54  THE  PERFECT  HORSE. 

be  the  position  and  length  of  the  bones,  and  the  char- 
acteristic appearance  of  those  muscles  by  the  use  of 
which  a  spirited  animal  is  able  to  perform  his  mighty 
deeds.  How  does  a  horse  look  to  the  eye  when  the 
formation  of  his  hind-quarters  is  as  it  should  be  ? 

Several  things  must  be  kept  in  mind  by  the  student : 
First,  that  the  bones  must  be  of  the  proper  length,  of 
the  right  size,  and  be  put  together  in  a  right  position ; 
and,  secondly,  that  the  muscles  must  be  of  the  right 
length  and  size,  and  have  the  right  direction.  The 
bones,  remember,  are  the  levers ;  while  the  muscles  are 
the  powers  by  which  these  levers  are  moved.  We  all 
know  that  a  weight  is  more  easily  lifted  by  a  long  lever 
than  a  short  one ;  that  the  lever  must  be  large  enough 
to  have  the  required  strength,  and,  above  all,  placed  at 
the  right  angle,  in  order  that  every  ounce  of  the  applied 
weight  may  be  utilized  in  the  best  possible  manner. 
This,  in  brief,  is  the  philosophy  of  the  whole  matter. 
When  the  bones  are  short,  and  badly  placed,  the  mus- 
cles do  not  act  upon  them  in  such  a  way  as  to  secure 
the  needed  power ;  and  the  leap  attempted  is  not  made, 
or  the  wished-for  stride  obtained.  Long  bones,  well 
placed,  imply  great  leverage ;  and  long  muscles  mean 
that  the  contracting  power  by  which  the  levers  are 
moved  is  great.  On  these  conditions,  stride  depends ; 
and  therefore  it  is  that  length  of  bones  and  muscles  in 
the  hind-quarters  of  a  horse  is  a  thing  greatly  to  be 
desired.  In  order  to  get  a  true  and  adequate  knowl- 
edge of  the  hind-quarters  of  a  horse,  let  us  inspect  the 
several  parts  in  detail. 


HOW  TO  KNOW  HIM.  55 


THE    RUMP, 

or  haunch,  should  not  be  excessively  broad :  al- 
though it  is  the  narrow  rump  that  should  be  most 
avoided ;  for,  if  the  rump  is  narrow,  there  will  be  a  de- 
cided lack  of  power.  The  rump-bones  should  be  well 
projected  on  each  side  of  the  hips.  Nor  do  I  object, 
when  looking  for  speed,  if  the  projection  is  so  great  as 
to  cause  the  horse  to  be  *' ragged-hipped."  Such 
horses,  if  otherwise  well  constructed,  must,  of  necessity, 
be  very  powerful  horses.  The  bones  that  reach  from 
the  kidneys  to  the  projection  of  the  hip  can  scarcely  be 
too  long,  especially  in  animals  kept  for  speed.  Short- 
ness here  means  shortness  of  stride.  The  side-bones  of 
the  haunch  should  droop  well  down,  and  not  stand  out 
nearly  level.  I  know  that  some  straight  or  level 
rumped  horses  can  trot,  and  trot  fast  too ;  but  still,  as  a 
rule,  the  horse  with  a  moderately  drooping  rump  is  the 
best.  Such  a  horse,  if  he  is  in  other  respects  put  to- 
gether right,  is  sure  to  go.  He  will  swing  along  easily. 
The  stifle-joint  will  be  launched  out  well  ahead,  and  his 
leg  be  thrown  well  forward.  This  far-reaching-forward 
motion  of  stifle  and  leg  will  insure  length  to  his  stride, 
and  trueness  of  balance.  He  will  be  a  level  goer.  His 
trotting  will  be  done  with  his  legs,  and  not  with  his 
body.  Note  that  this  droop  of  the  rump  is  not  incon- 
sistent with  roundness  of  superficial  formation :  for  mus- 
cles can  be  so  massed  at  this  point,  that  the  rump  shall 
have  a  full  and  plump  appearance ;  and  this  is  the  most 


56  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

perfect  of  all  formations.  Such  a  bone  structure,  in 
connection  with  such  muscular  development,  is  perfec- 
tion itself 

Let  us  now  look  at  the 

THIGH. 

This  bone  extends  from  the  hip-joint  to  that  point 
where  it  unites  with  the  upper  section  of  the  bone 
called  the  tibia ;  the  union  of  the  two  composing  the 
stifle-joint.  As  in  the  case  of  the  scapula  (shoulder- 
blade),  the  thigh-bone  is  buried  in  and  wrapped  about 
with  an  enormous  mass  of  muscular  substance.  This 
bone  is  one  of  the  most  important  of  the  entire  frame. 
It  is  connected  with  those  great  muscles  which  alone  are 
able  to  propel  the  entire  system. 

This  bone  cannot  be  too  long,  because  the  length  of 
it  decides  the  reach  of  the  hind-quarters.  If  this  bone 
is  short,  and  the  bone  below  it  short,  the  horse  may  be 
strong ;  but  he  cannot  be  fast.  He  will  be  a  short-step- 
per; and  no  quickness  of  motion  can  make  good  the 
absence  of  a  long,  sweeping  stride.  Be  sure,  then,  before 
you  purchase  the  animal,  that  these  two  bones  are  long, 
and  properly  placed.  The  muscles  also,  as  I  have  al- 
ready suggested,  play  a  most  important  part  in  connec- 
tion with  these  bones.  From  these  alone,  remember, 
comes  the  power  to  move  them.  The  degree  of  their 
length  gauges  their  contracting  force,  by  which  the 
bones  are  made  to  move.  Be  sure,  then,  that  these  mus- 
cles are  long,  large,  and  hard.     Their  size  can  be  de* 


HOW  TO   KNOW  HBI.  6T 

cided  by  the  fulness  of  the  parts  they  compose ;  their 
length,  by  the  distance  which  intervenes  between  the 
haunch-bone  and  the  thigh-bone,  and  also  by  the  dis- 
tance lying  between  the  hip  and  the  hock.  This  last 
line  cannot  be  too  long.  A  hock  well  down  towards 
the  ground  is  a  sight, that  delights  the  horseman's  eye. 
In  respect  to  the  muscles  that  lie  along  the  thigh-bone, 
—  which  I  overlooked  when  speaking  of  this  part,  —  I 
would  observe,  that  they  should  be  strong,  and  well  de- 
veloped inside  as  well  as  outside  of  the  thigh.  Thinness 
and  flatness  of  formation  here  argue  decided  absence 
of  strength.  Indeed,  when  looking  at  the  thigh  from 
behind,  the  muscles  should  absolutely  swell  out,  giving 
to  the  otherwise  flat  surface  of  the  thigh-bone  a  rounded 
appearance.  This  is  the  very  perfection  of  shape.  Such 
a  horse  will  be  a  sturdy  goer,  no  matter  how  heavy  the 
roads.  The  stifle-joint  should  extend  well  forward,  and 
be  placed  well  down.  This  formation  removes  the  stifle 
to  a  proper  distance  from  the  pin-bone  as  well  as  from 
the  front-side  of  the  haunch-bone,  gives  greater  surface- 
room  for  the  attachment  of  muscles,  increases  their 
length,  and  decidedly  improves  their  leverage.  The 
greater  the  distance  between  these  several  parts,  the  bet- 
ter is  the  formation  in  every  respect.  Look  for  a  large- 
sized  stifle-joint,  no  matter  how  broad  it  is  across  the 
front,  for  here  is  one  of  the  points  of  extreme  action ; 
and  socket-room,  as  well  as  room  for  the  muscles,  is 
indispensable.  The  wider  the  thigh  is  from  the  stifle  to 
the  back  edge  of  the  thigh,  the  better.     The  muscular 


68  THE  PEBFECT   HOESE. 

formation  here  should  be  distinct  and  prominent. 
Quantity  and  length  of  bone  and  muscle  should  be  the 
peculiar  characteristic  of  this  section  of  the  body. 
Never  be  persuaded,  by  any  perfection  of  structure  as 
to  the  rest  of  the  body,  that  it  can  make  amends  for 
imperfection  and  lack  at  this  point.  The  perfect  in 
nature  is  reached  through  the  perfection  of  all  the  parts 
which  go  to  compose  the  whole.  No  one  muscle  can 
do  the  work  assigned  by  Nature  to  the  other.  The 
length  of  one  bone  cannot  make  good  the  loss  of  lever- 
age, and  therefore  of  propelling  power,  which  results 
from  the  shortness  of  another.  You  cannot  be  too  severe 
in  your  analysis  of  the  horse's  frame.  Every  part  of  it 
must  be  perfect ;  every  bone  and  muscle  of  the  proper 
length,  and  properly  placed ;  or  else  the  animal  will  fail 
you  at  the  supreme  test.  He  will  be  a  good  caj)able 
horse  up  to  a  certain  point ;  but  beyond  that,  if  he  is 
faulty  in  any  part  of  his  organization,  no  art  or  contriv- 
ance of  man  can  push  him.  He  will  always  come  a  lit- 
tle short  of  that  line  which  your  hope  had  drawn,  and 
which,  upon  an  imperfect  examination  of  him,  the  aver- 
age horseman  would  say  he  would  certainly  attain. 
This  great  fact  should  never  be  forgotten  by  the 
breeder  when  selecting  his  brood-mares  and  the  horse 
that  is  to  be  the  sire  of  his  stables.  Faulty  parents  be- 
get faulty  children.  This  is  Nature's  great  fiat ;  and  it  is 
vain  for  man  to  seek  to  elude  it.  I  know  that  imper- 
fection of  structure  can  be  modified  somewhat  for  the 
better  by  judicious  crossing ;  but  the  instances  in  which 


HOW  TO  KNOW  HBI.  59 

it  is  entirely  remedied,  so  far  as  my  experience  and  ob- 
servation go,  are  exceedingly  rare.  There  is  nothing 
certain  about  it.  Such  breeding  is,  in  spite  of  every 
thing  one  can  do,  unreliable,  and  too  much  the  matter 
of  luck.  The  only  sure  way,  as  it  is  the  only  business- 
like way,  is  to  have  perfection  in  both  parents ;  and  then 
the  great  law,  that  like  produces  like,  will  tell  in  your 
favor,  and  insure  you  success.  Beware  of  choosing  for 
the  sire  of  your  colts  an  excessively  long-backed  horse, 
or  one  faulty  in  the  construction  of  his  hind-quarters. 
Never  be  led  away  and  enticed  by  the  gloss  of  his  coat, 
the  fineness  of  his  neck  and  head,  the  splendid  develop- 
ment of  his  chest  and  shoulders,  into  breeding  from 
him,  if  he  is  poor  in  the  muscular  formation  of  his  quar- 
ters. It  is  in  his  haunch  and  thigh  that  strength  and 
speed  lie ;  and  here  every  thing  should  be  long,  broad, 
and  full.  If  you  are  a  breeder,  you  can  disregard  this, 
and  because  of  cheapness,  or  facility  of  service,  content 
yourself  with  an  inferior  sire ;  but  I  wish  you  to  dis- 
tinctly understand,  in  this  case,  that  you  are  not  to  blame 
the  principles  of  breeding  for  the  result  of  your  folly, 
but  your  own  foolishness  in  discarding  them.  With 
here  and  there  an  exception,  your  colts  will  be  what 
the  parents  are,  —  imperfect  animals ;  which  is  all  you 
have  deserved.  You  have  just  what  you  bred  from  over 
again ;  and  this  is  all  that  was  possible  for  Nature  under 
the  circumstances  to  give  you.  The  men  who  cry 
"that  breeding  does  not  pay"  are  men  who  make  it 
impossible  to  pay  by  the  substitution  of  ignorance  in 


60  THE  PERFECT  HOESE. 

the  place  of  intelligence,  and  niggardliness  in  the  place 
of  wise  liberality,  in  the  selection  of  their  brood-mares 
and  the  horse  who  sires  their  colts.  I  never  knew 
any  business  to  pay,  especially  one  demanding  so  much 
of  intelligence  as  breeding,  when  the  sole  condition 
of  success  —  the  knowledge  how  to  adapt  means  to  an 
end  —  was  totally  lacking. 

We  will  now  pass  to  the  consideration  of 

THE    HOCK. 

The  principal  reason,  perhaps,  why  this  is  worthy  of 
the  closest  attention,  is  because  it  is  the  seat,  for  the  most 
part,  of  all  the  lameness  that  occurs  in  the  hind-quarters ; 
and  this  liability  to  lameness  doubtless  springs  from  the 
fact,  that  the  strain  put  upon  it  by  the  propelling  muscles 
is  so  sudden  and  heavy,  that  it  requires  to  be  remark- 
ably well  formed  in  order  to  remain  sound.  To  be  well 
formed,  the  hock,  in  the  first  place,  must  be  of  large 
size.  No  matter  how  symmetrical  it  may  look  to  the 
eye :  if  it  is  not  large,  it  will  never  stand  severe  work. 
Never  be  afraid  or  ashamed  of  large,  coarse-looking 
hocks.  Such  hocks  are  always  beautiful  to  me.  Re- 
member that  here  the  great  motor  sinews  are;  and 
sufficient  room  must  be  given  them  to  play  freely  and 
easily,  and  without  the  least  friction.  Remember,  that, 
the  larger  the  bones  are  which  make  up  this  joint,  the 
wider  will  be  the  surface  to  which  the  great  powerful 
ligaments  which  keep  these  bones  in  their  places  can 
be  attached,  as  likewise  the  greater  will  be  the  surface 


HOW  TO   KNOW  HIM.  61 

over  which  will  be  distributed  the  concussions  to  which 
this  joint  is  inevitably  exposed  when  the  horse  is  in 
rapid  action.     But  size  alone  is  not  enough.     It  should 
be  well  proportioned,  each  and  every  part   of  fit  and 
adequate  size,  so  that  symmetry,  also,  shall  be  attained. 
The  bone  that  forms  the  hindermost  point  of  the  hock 
can  scarcely  be  too  large ;  for,  the  farther  it  is  pushed 
up,  the  greater  is  the  leverage  capacity  of  those   im- 
mense sinews  which    are  inserted  into   it.     This   bone 
should  be  strong  and  of  great  size,  as  should  also  be 
the    sinew   whMi   runs    upward   towards    the    thigh. 
This  should  stand  well  out  from  the  bone,  so  as  to  be 
clearly  perceived  by  the  eye,  and  easily  examined  by 
the   pressure   of   the    finger.       The   lower   thigh-bone 
should  run  into  the  hock-joint  at  a  pretty  sharp  angle ; 
but  here  the  angular   formation    should   cease.     From 
this  point  down  to  the  pastern  the  leg-bone  should  be 
as  straight  as  a  perpendicular  line  ;  for  whatever  curve 
there  may  be  to  it,  will,  as  you  can  understand,  cause  the 
back  sinews  to  work  at  a  great  disadvantage.     Friction 
with  every  movement  must  result;    and  it  is  friction 
which  begets  inflammation.     Such  a  horse  is  ever  liable 
to  become  curbed.     A  word  about  this  curb.     The  back 
sinew  Avhich  runs  down  along  the  edge  of  the  hock-joint 
is  held  safely  in  its  place  by  a  ligament  specially  de- 
signed for  this   purpose,   called  the    annula  ligament. 
This  spans  the  joint  at  the  lower  end  of  it  like  an  arch 
from  one  side  to  the  other.     Of  course,  if  the  bones  are 
so  placed  as  to  allow  the  sinew  to  run  in  an  exact  per- 


62  THE  PEKFECT  HOESE. 

pendicular  line,  there  will  be  less  strain  brought  to  bear 
upon  this  annula  ligament,  which  keeps  it  in  its  place ; 
and  it  will  be  able  to  bear  the  strain  which  the  horse 
with  every  stride   or  leap   puts  upon  it.     But  if  any 
considerable  variation  from  this  formation  occurs,  either 
by  the  rounding  of  the  leg-bone  at  this  point  or  the 
turning-in  of  the  hocks  towards  each  other,  there  will 
be  a  corresponding  friction  and  strain  brought  to  bear 
upon  the  annular  ligament.      The  sinew  will  be   liable 
to  start   out  completely  from  its  natural  position,  the 
beautiful  arrangement  of  Nature  at  this  point  disrupted, 
and  an  unseemly  tumor  be  the  result.     This  tumor  is 
the  airh.     Once  formed,  the  joint  is  forever  impaired. 
The  sinew,  you  see,  is  actually  torn  out  of  its  place ;  the 
band  that  should  have  held  it  in  its  natural  position  is 
unduly  strained  or  parted ;  and  perpetual  weakness  is 
the   result.     In   purchasing,  beware   of  a   curb.     Any 
protuberance,  however  slight,  at  this  point,  should  be 
regarded  with  grave  suspicion  ;  and  the  money  which 
you  were  to  give  for  the  horse,  keep  in  your  pocket. 
In  addition  to  the  curb,  another  evidence   of  unsound- 
ness is  to  be  looked  for  at  this  locality.      I  refer  to 
the  spavin.     The  bones  of  the  hock  are  the  natural 
seat   of    this   disorder   or   infliction.      Protection   from 
this    terrible    evil   lies   in    the    size    and    symmetry  of 
the  hock-bones.     Coarse-looking  and  strong  joints  are 
not  likely  to  get  out  of  order;  but  your  smooth,  neat, 
dandy-looking  joints  rarely,  if  ever,  stand  any  consid- 
erable amount  of  work.     I  do  not  think  that  spavin,  in 


HOW  TO  KNOW  HEM.  63 

as  many  cases  as  some  imagine,  springs  so  much  from 
the  imperfect  formation  of  the  hock  as  from  scrofulous 
tendencies  in  the  animal,  which  render  him  constitution- 
ally exposed  to  joint  and  bone  disease ;  and  so  it  happens 
that  no  size  and  symmetry  of  the  hock  can  ever  be 
regarded  as  an  infallible  protection  from  the  spavin. 
Another  cause  of  spavin,  and  perhaps  the  greatest, 
especially  in  America,  is  injudicious  shoeing.  If  a  horse, 
for  instance,  brushes,  the  smith  will  say,  "Oh,  I  can  cure 
him  of  that !  "  and  so  indeed  he  can,  and  without  the 
employment  of  any  marvellous  amount  of  wisdom 
either.  All  that  he  needs  to  do  is  to  cause  the  shoe  to 
be  thicker  on  one  side  of  the  heel  than  the  other,  and 
the  horse  will  not  brush ;  but  this  construction  of  the 
shoe,  it  should  be  remembered,  causes  so  much  more 
weight  to  be  thrown  upon  one  part  of  the  hock-joint 
than  another,  that  disease  is  pretty  sure  to  be  the  result. 
"I  wish,"  says  an  intelligent  writer,  "that  these  smiths 
had  the  one  side  of  their  boot  raised  an  inch  higher  than 
the  other  in  order  that  they  might  enjoy  the  same  pleasure 
that  they  have  conferred  upon  the  horse.  They  would 
then,  especially  if  compelled  to  run  and  jump,  have  an 
opportunity  of  knowing  how  long  their  ankle  and  knee 
joints  would  continue  sound."  The  last  cause  of  spavin 
I  shall  mention,  and  perhaps  the  most  frequent,  is  the 
smallness  of  the  shank-bone  at  its  junction  with 
the  hock.  The  hock  has  not  sufficient  surface  to  rest 
upon.  The  force  of  the  concussion  to  which  it  is 
exposed  is  not  sufficiently  distributed ;  and  spavin  is  the 


64  THE  PERFECT  HORSE. 

result.  I  have  seen  horses  so  badly  constructed  in  this 
respect,  that,  in  looking  at  them  from  a  side-view, 
the  front  of  the  shank-bone  immediately  below  the 
hock-joint  looked  as  if  it  had  been  shaved  away.  I 
need  not  say  that  this  is  a  fearful  defect ;  for  the  bone 
at  this  point,  in  order  to  receive  and  carry  the  joint 
properly,  should  be  wide  and  thick.  A  broad,  firm 
basis  for  what  is  above  to  rest  upon  is  one  of  the  best 
possible  assurances  that  the  owner  can  have  that  his 
liorse  will  never  be  spavined.  In  further  description  of 
the  shank-bone,  I  would  remark  that  it  should  be  short, 
stout,  and  flat :  a  long,  round  formation  is  as  bad  a  one 
as  perverted  nature  can  form.  "  Wide  as  a  slab  "  Avas 
the  description  which  an  old  stage-driver  in  Vermont 
once  gave  me  of  his  ideal  shank-bone ;  and  a  very  good 
description  it  was  too.  In  a  well-formed  leg  the  back 
sinews  should  be  brought  well  out  from  the  bone,  and 
feel  to  the  finger  like  finely-twisted  cords.  See  to  it 
that  they  are  free  from  all  irregularities  of  surfixce,  such 
as  puffs,  notches,  and  globules  of  fatty  substance.  Let 
them,  rather,  be  smooth  and  hard  as  scraped  bone.  Ob- 
serve, also,  that  the  lower  end  of  the  shank-bone,  as  well 
as  the  upper,  should  be  of  sufficient  size  to  make  a 
strong  and  solid  connection  with  the  pastern,  which 
should  be  longer,  stronger,  and  more  oblique,  than  the 
pastern  of  the  fore-leg.  In  short,  see  to  it,  that,  from 
the  line  of  the  rump  to  the  ground-surface  of  the  hind- 
foot,  bone  and  muscle  alike  look  as  if  they  were  of 
such  size  and  strength,  and  so  admirably  adjusted  in 


HOW   TO  KNOW  HLM.  65 

their  proper  positions,  that  they  can  do  and  endure  all 
things.  A  horse  with  such  an  appearance  in  the  hind- 
quarters, if  otherwise  well  formed  and  of  right  tempera- 
ment, will  never  fail  you,  but  will  remain,  until  old  age 
diminishes  the  natural  forces  of  his  well-constructed 
organism,  the  pride  and  ornament  of  your  stable. 

I  have  now  gone  over  the  several  parts  of  the  horse, 
upon  the  character  of  which  his  structure,  and  hence 
his  usefulness,  depends.  I  have  striven  to  avoid  the 
employment  of  such  terms  as  would  be  difficult  for 
the  average  reader  to  understand.  If  I  have  suc- 
ceeded to  that  extent  to  which  I  aspired,  the  reader 
who  has  carefully  followed  me  in  my  remarks  has  such 
knowledge  of  the  organs,  bones,  muscles,  and  general 
shape  and  appearance,  of  the  horse,  as  to  qualify  him  to 
select  with  wise  discrimination  the  animal  or  animals 
which  he  needs  for  either  general  or  specific  service, 
or  for  the  purposes  of  breeding.  He  cannot  hereafter 
be  deceived  by  the  cunning  of  dishonorable  men,  or 
have  any  but  himself  to  blame,  if  he  invest  his  money 
unwisely  in  his  future  purchases.  But  I  ask  him  to  ob- 
serve, that  all  data  for  man's  information  are  worthless, 
unless,  when  attained,  they  are  used  in  connection  with 
his  own  observation  and  intelligence. 

It  is  by  the  use  of  your  own  eyes  and  fingers,  my 
reader,  in  connection  with  the  knowledge  I  have  now 
put  in  your  possession,  that  you  can  become  wise  in 
horse-craft.  Suffer,  at  this  point,  two  or  three  cautions. 
The  first  is,  Buy  on  your  oivn  judgment^  and  not  on  that 


TEffi  PERFECT   HORSE. 


of  another  man.  I  would  speak  with  all  modesty  ;  and 
yet  I  would  say,  that  it  is  my  firm  belief,  that  if  you 
have  closely  perused  the  preceding  pages,  and  thought- 
fully pondered  them  until  the  main  suggestions  I  have 
made  are  well  fixed  in  your  memory,  you  are  better 
prepared  to  go  forth  and  purchase  horses  discreetly 
and  profitably  than  nine  out  of  ten  of  those  professional 
horsemen  as  they  are  called.  Exercise  your  own  judg- 
ment, then,  getting  greater  wisdom  by  your  mistakes ; 
which,  I  warrant  you,  under  the  conditions  supposed, 
will  not  be  many  nor  grave.  But,  if  you  are  to  thus 
trust  wholly  to  yourself  (which  I  decidedly  advise),  be 
deliberate  and  thorough  in  your  examination  of  the 
animal  under  inspection.  Note  every  point  in  order  as 
I  have  followed  in  this  work.  Let  eye  and  finger  alike 
contribute  to  your  decision.  Feel  of  the  bones,  muscles, 
and  sinews.  It  would  be  difficult  to  cheat  you,  even 
were  your  eyes  bandaged,  if  you  would  receive  the 
knowledge  of  the  animal's  shape  and  condition  which 
might  come  to  you  through  your  hands  alone. 

Be  sure  that  the  horse  you  purchase  has  symmetry  ; 
viz.,  is  ivell  proportioned  throughout.  Never  purchase 
a  horse  because  he  has  a  splendid  develo]3ment  of  one 
part  of  his  organization,  if  he  be  lacking  in  any  other. 
Above  all,  keep  well  in  mind  what  you  are  buying  /or, 
and  buy  the  horse  best  adapted  to  the  work  you  will 
require  of  him  ;  and,  when  such  an  animal  is  yours,  be 
content.  Never  jockey.  An  occasional  exchange  may 
be   allowable;    but   this   daily   *' swapping"   of    horses 


HOW  TO  KNOW   HIM.  67 

advertises  a  man's  incompetency  for  any  thing  higher. 
Another  caution  is  this :  Never  purchase  a  horse  until 
you  have  seen  him  move,  and  under  the  same  condi- 
tions to  which  he  will  be  exposed  in  the  service  you 
will  expect  of  him.  If  for  a  draught,  see  him  draw, 
back,  and  turn  round  in  both  directions ;  if  for  the 
road,  see  how  he  handles  himself,  not  merely  on  level 
ground,  but  on  going  up  sharp  declivities,  and,  above 
all,  in  descending  them.  In  this  way  you  will  ascer- 
tain the  faults  or  excellences  of  both  his  temper  and 
structure. 

In  these  exercises  drive  him  yourself.  The  reins  in 
a  skilful  hand,  aided  by  the  whip  or  mouth,  can  be 
made  to  conceal  grave  defects.  Let  him  move  with  a 
loose  rein,  so  that  he  may  take  his  natural  gait,  and  not 
his  artificial ;  for,  by  so  doing,  you  will  detect  any  mis- 
takes of  judgment  that  you  may  have  made  when  look- 
ing him  over  in  a  state  of  inactivity.  Many  a  time 
unsoundness  will  appear  in  motion^  which  no  inspection 
of  the  eye  and  finger,  however  close,  can  ascertain. 
When  you  have  walked  him  and  jogged  him,  if  he  is  to 
serve  any  other  than  mere  di^aught-purposes,  put  him  to 
his  speed,  and  keep  him  at  it  for  a  sufficient  distance 
to  test  his  breathing  capacity :  then  pull  him  up  ;  jump 
from  the  wagon,  and  look  at  his  flanks ;  inspect  his 
nostrils ;  and  put  your  ear  close  to  the  side  of  his  chest, 
in  order  to  ascertain  if  the  action  of  the  heart  is 
normal.  If  this  exercise  has  caused  him  to  perspire 
freely,  all  the  better ;  for  you  can  then  see,  when  you 


68  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

have  returned  to  the  stable,  whether  he  "  dries  off 
quickly,"  which  a  horse  of  sound  constitution  does 
when  in  perfect  health.  Watch  him  also  carefully 
when  he  is  being  taken  from  the  stall,  and  while  the 
harness  is  being  put  upon  him:  you  will  in  this  way 
ascertain  his  temper,  and  detect  any  thing  that  may 
be  undesirable  about  him. 

Above  all,  in  dealing,  deal,  as  far  as  possible,  only 
with  honorable  men.  Act  so  as  to  live  above  the  hint 
or  suspicion  of  dishonesty  yourself  No  gentleman  will 
have  anything  to  do  with  a  mere  jockey ;  and  the  worst 
reputation  that  a  breeder  can  get  is  one  for  cunning 
and  trickery.  Such  a  breeder  will  find  it  hard  work  to 
sell  his  colts.  Everybody  suspects  him.  He  may  have 
a  fine  young  horse ;  but  his  evil  reputation  makes  men 
shun  him,  because  they  fear  they  shall  get  cheated  if 
they  buy  of  him.  In  no  business  does  honesty  pay 
more  surely,  or  larger  dividends,  than  in  the  horse- 
business  ;  and  the  reason  is,  because  gentlemen  who  pay 
liberally  for  young  horses  are  very  often  distrustful  of 
their  own  ability  to  judge  as  to  the  merits  of  a  horse, 
and  so,  naturally,  desire  to  purchase  of  men  whose  word 
they  can  depend  upon.  No  breeder  or  horse-dealer  in 
regular  business  can  afford  to  cheat,  even  if  he  has  no 
conscience  to  restrain  him  from  so  doing.  Raise  good 
colts,  and  keep  a  good  character,  and  you  will  make 
money  by  breeding. 

I  cannot  resist  the  inclination  to  put  on  record  in 
this  place  and   manner  my  strong  protest  against  the 


HOW  TO   KNOW  HIM.  69 

conduct  of  certain  people,  who,  by  slurs  and  innuendoes 
and  misrepresentations,  seek  to  bring  into  popular 
disgrace  the  most  delightful  and  elevating  branch  of 
American  agriculture, —  the  breeding  and  training  of 
fine  horses.  Such  behavior  is  both  disgraceful  to  them- 
selves, and,  so  far  as  it  has  any  influence  upon  the 
public,  hurtful  to  the  best  interests  of  the  country.  As 
a  branch  of  business,  it  represents  an  enormous  amount 
of  capital,  as  the  national  statistics  show,  — of  capital, 
too,  contributing  actively,  year  by  year,  to  the  commer- 
cial prosperity  of  the  land,  and  also  largely  and  directly 
to  the  health  and  happiness  of  its  inhabitants.  From 
the  settlement  of  the  country,  the  horse  has  been 
intimately  and  honorably  associated  with  our  social  and 
religious  life,  as  he  has  also  most  potentially  contributed 
to  the  development  of  its  trade  and  commerce.  With- 
out the  assistance  of  the  noble  animal  these  thoughtless 
people  persist  in  associating  with  gamblers  and  jockeys, 
our  religious  congregations  could  never  have  been  as- 
sembled sabbath  by  sabbath  in  the  churches,  nor  our 
political  gatherings  held,  nor,  as  we  all  realize  in  view 
of  the  revelation  of  the  last  winter,  during  the  epizootic 
season,  could  our  business  enterprises  have  been  carried 
out.  Why  an  animal  so  noble  by  nature,  and  useful  to 
us  all,  should  be  singled  out  for  reprobation,  or  to  en- 
gage in  his  propagation  and  training  be  stigmatized  as  a 
low  and  vulgar  pursuit,  passes  my  comprehension.  For 
one,  I  acknowledge  a  debt  of  gratitude  to  those,  who 
by  importation  of  blooded  animals,  or  careful  attention 


70  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

to  the  principles  of  breeding,  have  contributed  to  the 
improvement  of  the  American  horse.  The  world  is 
happier  and  better  conditioned  to-day  because  Lafosse, 
Ilarey,  Hiram  Woodruff,  and  men  of  their  intelligence 
and  character,  lived.  And  not  alone  to  these  great 
masters,  who  revealed  to  us  the  true  method  of  shoe- 
ing, training,  and  driving  horses,  are  we  indebted,  but  to 
all  of  lesser  note  who  in  any  sensible  measure  assisted 
in  the  improvement  of  the  animal  himself,  or  of  man's 
knowledge  of  his  wants,  and  his  capacity  to  serve 
the  human  race.  If  it  be  a  disgrace  to  teach  men 
useful  knowledge ;  to  add  to  the  intelligence  and 
humane  impulse  of  the  country  in  respect  to  the 
humblest  of  God's  creatures;  to  show  those  of  small 
fortunes  how  to  increase  their  limited  means,  and  hence 
to  improve  their  own  condition,  and  swell  the  aggregate 
prosperity  of  the  country ;  to  fire  with  a  worthy  am- 
bition the  young  agriculturist  to  produce  better  stock 
than  his  father  bred  before  him,  —  if  this,  I  say,  be  a 
disgrace,  then  I  rejoice  to  share  it  with  those,  who,  in 
every  State  of  the  Union,  are  laboring  to  accomplish  the 
same  noble  end,  —  men  whose  public  spirit  I  admire,  and 
the  integrity  of  whose  characters  I  hope  to  equal,  but 
may  never  expect  to  excel.  I  love,  with  an  attachment 
which  increases  with  the  passage  of  years,  my  native 
soil;  and  hold  that  its  cultivation,  and  employment  in 
those  pursuits  connected  with  it,  is  most  conducive  to 
the  practice  of  those  virtues  which  ennoble  man,  and 
minister  to  his  happiness.     I  love  the  earnest,  honorable 


HOW   TO   KNOW   HIM.  71 

industries  of  the  field,  and  the  stimulating  companion- 
ship of  the  spirited  denizens  of  the  stable.  The  strong, 
healthy  odor  of  the  earth,  the  scented  hedges,  the 
tremulous  happiness  of  harvest-heads,  the  welcoming 
neigh  of  glossy  favorites  greeting  my  coming  steps  with 
the  pride  of  their  arched  necks  and  expectant  eyes,  — 
all  this  is  a  delight.  Hail  to  this  life  of  innocent  and 
humane  sovereignty,  in  which  care  sets  with  the  setting 
of  the  sun,  and  gentle  night  brings  gentler  repose !  I 
cherish  the  ambition,  that,  in  some  limited  measure,  I 
may  contribute  something  to  the  intelligence  of  those 
of  my  generation  who  share  this  feeling  with  me,  by 
which  they  shall  more  perfectly  understand  the  prin- 
ciples that  underlie  success  in  those  pursuits,  which, 
while  they  minister  to  the  truest  pleasures  of  life, 
supply,  at  the  same  time,  the  needed  support  and  profit. 
Enough  for  me,  if,  when  that  crowded  life  which  lives 
in  cities,  and  to  which  I  am  now  a  teacher,  shall  have 
forgotten  me,  —  as  it  surely  will  forget,  —  I  may  still 
be  remembered  in  the  scattered  hamlets  of  the  country, 
and  be  occasionally  mentioned  by  the  farmer's  fireside, 
as  having  been  a  friend  of  the  farmer,  and  of  the 
farmer's  best  friend,  —  the  gentle,  serviceable  animal,  — 
the  horse. 


CHAPTEH    11. 

THE   PRINCIPLES   OF  BREEDING.  —  REASONS  WHY  BREED- 
ERS HAVE  NOT  BEEN  FINANCIALLY   SUCCESSFUL. 

No  one  who  is  at  all  acquainted  with  the  history  of 
breeding  in  New  England  and  the  country  at  large  —  at 
least,  so  far  as  trotting-horses  are  concerned  —  can  deny 
that  much  money  has  been  lost,  and  many  failures  made, 
by  those  who  have  embarked  their  property  in  the 
enterprise. 

The  fast  horses  of  the  country  seem  to  be  rather  the 
result  of  accident  or  good  fortune  than  of  design.  In 
other  business,  men  invest  one  or  five  thousand  dollars 
with  the  reasonable  certainty  that  they  will  receive 
their  money  back  again,  together  with  a  profitable  rate 
of  interest.  This  is  what  is  called  doing  a  safe  busi- 
ness ;  and  it  is  this  certainty  of  return  that  renders  the 
business  legitimate.  By  as  much  as  the  result  is  uncer- 
tain, accidental,  the  business  loses  in  dignity,  ceases  to 
be  attractive  to  a  well-constructed  intellect,  and  be- 
comes a  species  of  gambling.  Now,  breeding  of  fast 
horses  has  been  a  business,  up  to  within  a  few  years,  and 

72 


PRINCIPLES   OF   BREEDING.  73 

even  now,  in  the  majority  of  cases,  is  a  pursuit,  notori- 
ously tainted  with  this  fatal  element  of  uncertainty. 
The  history  of  almost  every  breeder  is  a  history  of  ex- 
travagant hopes  and  bitter  disappointments.  His  whole 
career  has  been  one  of  struggle,  delusive  successes,  and 
total  failures.  If  now  and  then  he  has  made  a  "hit" 
as  the  saying  is,  if  occasionally  he  has  produced  a  fast 
colt,  the  very  success  served  only,  in  the  way  of  con- 
trast, to  make  his  failures  all  the  more  noticeable.  The 
great  trotting-horses  of  the  country  have  not  been 
foaled,  in  the  proportion  that  one  might  reasonably  ex- 
pect, in  the  great  stables  of  the  country :  they  have 
come,  rather,  before  the  public  from  obscure  sources. 
In  many  cases,  as  with  Dutchman  and  Flora  Temple 
and  Ripton,  no  one  can  tell  up  to  this  day  any  thing  of 
the  sire  or  the  dam.  The  fact  that  three  such  horses, 
and  scores  of  others  of  almost  equal  merit,  have  no 
known  parentage,  reveals  how  rude  and  unsuccessful 
the  breeding  efforts  of  the  country  have  been.  Who 
can  conceive  of  three  winners  of  the  Derby  with  no 
known  pedigree  ?  Who  can  imagine  a  horse  arising 
in  England,  who  should  win  all  the  principal  prizes, 
and  remain  king  of  the  English  turf  for  six  or  ten 
years,  and  no  Enghshman  be  able  to  tell  the  stable 
in  which  he  was  born,  the  dam  that  foaled  him,  or 
the  horse  which  was  his  sire  ?  Such  a  thing  would  be 
impossible  :  for  there  the  principles  of  breeding  are 
understood ;  the  result  that  shall  come  from  the  union 
of  two  strains  of  blood  can  be  predicted  ;  and  successes 


74  THE  PERFECT  HORSE. 

are  in  the  line  of  sequence,  and  not  of  accident.  But 
here  we  have  had  few,  if  any,  impartial  and  intelligent 
students  of  the  problem.  The  most  intricate  and  deli- 
cate of  all  endeavors  to  propagate  great  excellences  by 
the  harmonious  union  of  desirable  qualities,  possessed 
in  part  by  the  sire  and  in  part  by  the  dam,  has  been, 
for  the  most  part,  undertaken  by  men  too  ignorant  or 
prejudiced  to  grasp  comprehensively  the  rudimental 
principles  of  success.  Hence  it  is  that  breeding  in 
America  has  been  an  innocent  kind  of  gambling ;  that 
is,  a  venture  in  which  good  luck,  rather  than  an  under- 
standing of  and  attention  to  the  business,  was  relied 
on  for  success.  Hence  many  of  our  fastest  horses  are 
sent  to  us  annually  from  the  barn-yards  of  unknown, 
and,  so  far  as  principles  of  breeding  go,  ignorant  farm- 
ers. We  find  them  —  as  Dutchman  was  found,  in  a  tan- 
dem-team, drawing  bricks  ;  or  behind  a  drover's  wagon, 
as  Flora  Temple  was  discovered  —  without  name  or 
fame.  They  come  unheralded  by  any  expectation,  the 
result  of  no  plan,  no  knowledge,  no  wisely -invested  cap- 
ital. This  seems  an  indisputable  proposition,  therefore, 
—  that  one  of  the  causes  of  the  financial  failures  which 
have  attended  attempts  at  breeding  is  to  be  found  in 
the  gross  ignorance  of  the  breeders  themselves  in  the 
principles  of  propagation.  This  is  the  more  to  be  won- 
dered at,  because,  in  all  kindred  branches,  knowledge  is 
universally  admitted  to  be  the  great  essential  of  success. 
No  one,  for  instance,  will  invest  money  in  trout-culture 
until  he  has  examined  into  the  principles  which  under- 


PRINCIPLES   OF   BREEDING.  75 

lie  their  propagation.  He  becomes  a  student  of  trout ; 
studies  their  structure  and  habits,  their  favorite  diet, 
and  the  treatment  Avhich  is  most  favorable  to  their  rapid 
increase  and  growth.  All  this  is  preliminary  to  the 
grand  undertaking.  He  invests  no  money,  he  makes 
not  a  move,  until  the  knowledge  of  the  business  neces- 
sary to  the  proper  understanding  of  it  is  obtained.  So 
is  it  in  the  case  of  fowl,  sheep,  and  the  like.  Knowl- 
edge first,  investment  of  money  next,  is  the  rule  and 
order.  It  is  just  this  rule  and  order  that  men  seem  to 
reverse  in  their  attempts  at  breeding  the  horse.  With 
no  knowledge  of  what  is  needed  in  the  sire  or  the  dam ; 
with  no  power  to  discriminate  the  qualities  of  either ; 
with  no  ability  to  say  that  these  qualities  are  such  as  to 
warrant  harmonious  union  of  all  that  is  most  desirable 
in  either  parent,  —  in  the  foal,  or  the  reverse,  —  they 
breed,  not  along  the  line  of  certain  well-ascertained 
principles  or  clearly-discerned  similitudes,  but  haphaz- 
ardly, as  chance  furnishes  the  opportunity,  trusting  to 
luck  to  produce  a  fast  colt. 

The  grossness  of  this  blunder  can  only  be  appre- 
hended and  realized  when  you  consider  that  the  breed- 
ing of  fast  horses  is  not  only  a  business,  but  a  business 
the  principles  of  success  in  which  are  most  delicate 
and  hidden.  The  man  who  engages  in  it  not  only 
undertakes  to  deal  with  the  outward  and  material,  but 
more  yet  with  the  inward  and  the  spiritual.  The 
problem  is  the  propagation  of  a  high  order  of  life ;  and 
not  only  its  propagation,  but  its  propagation  in  such  a 


76  THE  PEEFECT  HOESE. 

form  and  spirit,  that  its  expression  shall  be  marked  with 
certain  specific  characteristics. 

The  breeder  must  be,  in  the  most  thorough  and  ele- 
vated sense  of  the  word,  a  student.     His  capital  is  his 
power  to  observe  and  infer.     From  what    is  seen,  he 
reasons  to  what  is  unseen ;  from  that  which  is,  to  that 
which   shall   be.     His   study   is  the  study  of  nervous 
forces,  —  their  origin,  and  law  of  descent ;  of  muscular 
power,  — its  source,  how  accumulated,  and  how  sustained. 
Nor  is  this  all.     He  is  a  student  of  an  organization  of  so 
high  and  fine  a  quality,  that  its  condition,  and  states  of 
temperament,  are  as  variable  as  the  wind.     The  horse  is 
an  animal  of  exquisite  construction.     In  him  we  behold 
one  of  the  finest  results  of  creative  skill.     In  nervous 
structure   he   is   exceedingly  sensitive.     Sensitive   and 
sympathetic,  he  suffers  from  those  changes  in  condition 
and  treatment  to  which  other  animals  are  indifferent. 
Even  so  slight  causes  as  changes  in  his  food  and  bed- 
ding, interruption  and  difference  in  grooming,  ay,  even 
the  subtle  changes  of  the  atmosphere,  affect  him.     Nor 
is  it  alone  the  horse  before  him  that  he  must  study.     To 
know  a  man,  you  must  know  something  of  his  ancestry. 
Man  is  not  a  simple,  he  is  a  complex,  being.     He  is  the 
result  of  many  antedating  causes.     He  is  the  embodi- 
ment of  both  harmonious  and  antagonistic  forces.     Five 
generations  are  represented  in  him.     He  is  the  child  of 
ten  parents;   and  each  parent  positively  or  negatively 
exists  in  him.     So  it  is  with  the  horse.     He  is  the  result 
of  antedating  causes.     Sire,  grandsire,  and  a  long  line 


WHY   NOT   FINANCIALLY   SUCCESSFUL.  77 

of  ancestry,  —  with  all  their  peculiarities  of  spirit  and 
structure,  of  like  and  unlike  qualities,  of  elements  harmo- 
nious and  antagonistic,  —  are  represented  in  him.  To 
study  him  is  to  study  them.  To  know  him  is  to  know 
them.  You  must  gauge  the  force  that  is  not  before 
you  can  gauge  the  force  that  is.  History  must  assist 
observation,  and  reading  be  joined  to  sight. 

Is  it  extravagant,  then,  for  me  to  ask.  What  higher 
study  can  there  be  than  this,  —  this  study  into  life  mus- 
cular and  nervous,  mental  and  emotional  ?  What  nobler 
subject  than  this,  —  the  investigation  of  those  laws  by 
which  life,  in  all  its  changes  and  gradations,  is  transmit- 
ted from  sire  to  son  ?  What  more  difficult  problem  than 
this,  the  solution  of  which  should  reveal  to  us  the 
forceful  properties  which  repeat  themselves  in  animal  as 
well  as  human  life,  and  which  may,  therefore,  be  re- 
garded as  truly  representative  of  that  order  of  exist- 
ence with  which  we  behold  them  associated  ?  And  yet 
men  have  expected,  without  knowledge  or  study,  or  fa- 
cilities whereby  to  conduct  the  business  advantageously, 
to  make  great  fortunes  out  of  breeding ;  and  people  can 
be  found  all  over  New  England  and  the  country  who 
will  question  the  profitableness  of  breeding  fine  horses, 
on  the  ground  that  many  of  those  who  have  attempted 
it  have  not  been  successful ;  failing  to  see,  or  else  pur- 
posely ignoring  the  fact,  that  the  reason  why  these  gen- 
tlemen have  failed  to  achieve  success  in  their  efforts  is 
because  their  efforts  were  not  directed  by  a  sufficient  in- 
telligence in  respect  to  the  business  they  had  undertaken. 


78  THE  PERFECT  HORSE. 

Now,  the  writer  firmly  believes  that  breeding  of 
handsome  and  fast  trotting-horses  in  America  is,  and 
will  continue  to  be,  a  most  profitable  business.  He 
believes  it  will  yield  for  the  money  invested  a  larger 
return  by  twenty  per  cent  than  any  other  branch  of 
agriculture ;  and  he  believes  that  this  is  especially  true 
in  the  New-England  States.  The  fact  is,  agriculture 
proper  —  by  which  I  mean  the  tillage  of  the  soil,  and  the 
production  of  those  products  that  grow  directly  out  of 
the  soil  —  can  no  longer  be  relied  upon  to  keep  alive  the 
agricultural  spirit,  or  sustain  the  agricultural  wealth,  of 
New  England.  We  cannot  compete  successfully  with 
the  Middle  States  and  the  Great  West  in  the  raising  of 
cereals,  or,  indeed,  in  the  breeding  of  those  animals 
whose  market  value  can  never  rise  beyond  a  certain 
moderate  price,  and  to  fit  which  for  the  market  the 
products  of  their  great  wheat  and  corn  fields  are  ser- 
viceable. Hence  it  comes  about,  that  in  swine  and 
beeves,  and  the  lower-price  horses.  New  England  can 
never  compete  with  Ohio  and  Illinois,  Wisconsin  and 
Texas.  When  horses  of  good  serviceable  quality  for 
family  and  team  use  can  be  shipped  from  Michigan  to 
Boston,  and  sold  in  our  sale  stables  at  a  hundred  and 
seventy -five  dollars  per  head,  no  Massachusetts  breeder 
can  afford  to  raise  colts  of  ordinary  quality.  So  long 
as  the  cost  of  transporting  a  horse  from  the  West  to 
the  seaboard  is  less  than  the  difference  of  the  cost  of 
supporting  him  from  the  time  lie  is  foaled  to  the  time 
he  is  ready  for  the  market,  New  England  cannot  afford 


WHY  NOT   FINANCIALLY  SUCCESSFUL.  79 

to  breed  low-priced  animals.  It  is,  therefore,  only  in 
raising  such  animals  as  are  of  fine  quality  that  we  of 
the  Eastern  States  can  find  our  reward.  Here  it  is  that 
we  see  another  reason  why  breeders  have  been  unsuc- 
cessful in  their  investments.  They  have  bred  on  the 
level  of  too  low  an  average  to  make  it  pay.  The  prin- 
ciple on  which  they  acted,  that  low-priced  stallions  and 
dams  could  produce  high-priced  colts,  is  a  false  one. 

I  wish  the  reader  to  observe,  then,  that,  while  I  main- 
tain that  breeding  can  be  made  in  New  England  to  yield 
a  liberal  return  for  the  money  invested,  it  cannot  be 
made  to  do  this  save  when  it  is  conducted  with  knowl- 
edge and  understanding  of  those  principles  which  insure 
success.  In  brief,  it  is  like  any  other  business :  it  can  be 
conducted  successfully  only  by  those  who  understand  it. 

The  first  thing,  in  order  to  do  any  thing,  is  to  learn 
Jiow  to  do  it. 


CHAPTER  III. 

BREEDING.  —  HOW  TO  SUCCEED. 

In  the  preceding  chapter  we  discussed  the  subject  of 
breeding  from  a  philosophical  standpoint.  We  called 
the  reader's  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  successful 
breeding  of  any  class  of  animals  demands,  on  the  part 
of  the  one  who  attempts  it,  a  most  thorough  knowledge 
of  the  structure,  temperament,  and  habits  of  those  ani- 
mals whose  species  he  would  propagate.  We  reminded 
him  that  the  horse  belongs  to  an  order  of  animals  of 
high  organization,  both  nervous  and  muscular,  —  so  high 
as  to  be  easily  marked  by  those  from  which  he  descend- 
ed ;  and  that,  in  order  to  breed  fine  horses  successfully, 
he  must  become  a  student  of  one  of  the  most  intricate 
and  difficult  problems  in  natural  history. 

We  now  propose  to  point  out  some  of  the  more  pal- 
pable means  of  success  in  detail. 

At  the  risk  of  reiteration,  we  would  say  to  every 
young  man  in  New  England  who  is  proposing  in  his 
own  mind  to  raise  a  certain  number  of  colts.  Put  your- 
self in  the  way  of  learning  something  of  the  business 

80 


BREEDING. —  HOW  TO   SUCCEED.  81 

upon  which  you  arc  to  enter.  To  your  own  observa- 
tion add  the  observation  of  other  men.  Re-enforce 
your  own  knowledge  with  the  wisdom  of  those  who 
have  grown  gray  in  the  business.  Above  all,  become  a 
student  of  the  horse.  Obtain  such  books  as  you  need  to 
inform  your  mind  of  the  history,  habits,  and  peculiarities 
of  the  animal  you  admire.  Make  yourself  familiar  with 
the  history  of  the  noted  horses  of  your  own  country, 
and  also  of  other  lands.  Make  yourself  acquainted  also 
with  their  shape,  size,  peculiarity  of  going,  character  of 
their  temperament,  and  the  ancestry  from  which  they 
sprang.  Study  pedigrees,  that  you  may  know  by  the 
union  of  what  bloods,  and  the  intermarriage  of  what 
families,  great  results  have  been  obtained.  Study  the 
horse,  not  only  with  the  eye^  but  with  the  liajul  and  fin- 
ger. Make  yourself  familiar  with  every  joint  and  bone 
and  tendon.  Know  the  horse  in  his  skeleton,  until  you 
know  the  place  of  every  bone,  muscle,  and  member  of 
his  frame.  No  one  ever  knows  a  horse  by  merely  look- 
ing at  him :  he  must  look  through  him  as  well.  Learn 
to  distinguish  the  weak  points  and  good  points  of  a 
horse  at  sight  as  an  artist  distinguishes  a  mere  daub 
from  a  finished  picture  at  a  glance.  If  you  intend  to 
make  breeding  a  business,  it  is  a  good  plan  to  engage 
yourself  to  some  practical  breeder,  and  remain  with  him 
until  you  have  mastered  the  minutice  of  the  business,  and 
become  familiar  with  the  hundred  and  one  points  of 
interest  that  can  be  learned  only  by  actual  service  on  a 
brood-farm.     The  reader  will  see,  that,  while  I  demand 


82  THE  PERFECT   HOKSE. 

no  more  than  is  universally  admitted  to  be  the  condi- 
tion of  success  in  other  branches  of  business,  I  do  de- 
mand this ;  and  I  lay  it  down  as  a  law,  which  executes 
its  own  penalty  when  transgressed,  that  he  who  breeds 
a  horse  while  ignorant  of  the  correct  principles  of  breed- 
ing will  breed  a  failure.  If  he  ever  make  a  success,  it 
will  be  based  on  no  broader  and  surer  foundation  than 
mere  luck. 

The  second  point,  in  the  way  of  suggestion,  that  I 
make,  is  this :  Whoever  wishes  to  raise  a  fine  colt  must 
be  willing  to  put  himself  to  a  certain  amount  of  trouble 
and  expense.  There  is  an  old  saying,  "  that  the  gods 
never  drop  nuts  already  cracked  into  men's  mouths;" 
and  it  is  the  law  which  runs  through  the  world,  and  puts 
its  equal  pressure  upon  all,  that  the  effort  put  forth 
shall  exactly  gauge  the  degree  of  success. 

Now,  the  country  is  full  of  men  who  are  ambitious  to 
raise  a  five-hundred-dollar  colt,  but  who  are  at  the  same 
time  unwilling  to  be  at  any  considerable  trouble  or  ex- 
pense to  do  it.     They  wish  the  five-hundred-dollar  colt ; 
but  they  wish  to  get  it  in  such  a  way,  that  it  shall  not 
cost  them  over  fifty  or  seventy-five    dollars:    in  other 
words,  they  desire  some  three  or  four  hundred  per  cent 
return  for  the  money  invested.     It  is  needless  for  me  to 
say  that   such  an  expectation   is   futile.     In   the  very 
nature  of  things,  it  can  never  be  realized.      The  law  of 
cause  and  effect  is  against  it.     It  is  not  difficult  for  an 
intelligent  breeder  to  raise  a  five-hundred-dollar  colt ;  it 
is  not  extravagant  for  such  a  person  to  expect  to  raise  a 


BREEDING.  —  HOW  TO   SUCCEED.  83 

colt,  which,  at  five  years  of  age,  shall  command  a  thou- 
sand dollars  for  every  year  of  his  age :  but  it  costs  time, 
attention,  and  considerable  money,  to  insure  such  a  re- 
sult. An  ordinary  dam  will  not  produce  such  a  colt. 
An  ordinary  stallion  will  not  beget  such  an  animal.  To 
raise  a  handsome  and  fast-moving  colt,  you  must  have 
handsome  and  fast-moving  parents  to  bring  him  forth, 
and  favorable  conditions  of  birth  and  culture  such  as 
money  and  intelligence  can  alone  provide.  Like  pro- 
duces like ;  and  a  fine-blooded  colt  must  have  fine-blood- 
ed parentage.  This  is  a  law ;  and  no  one  can  escape  its 
application.  Stallions  whose  service  can  be  obtained 
for  ten  or  twenty  dollars,  and  mares  of  low  blood  and 
negative  characters,  can  never  beget  or  conceive  such  a 
foal.  If  you  are  willing  to  pay  for  a  mare,  and  for  the 
service  of  a  stallion,  of  the  needed  character,  and  then 
are  willing  to  bestow  upon  the  dam,  before  and  after  the 
foal  is  cast,  the  proper  management,  your  expectation 
can  be  realized ;  otherwise  not.  Luck  has  nothing  to  do 
with  breeding.  Knowledge,  and  a  wise  use  of  means, 
can  alone  secure  you  what  you  desire.  You  can  ignore 
this  rule,  and  fail ;  you  can  comply  with  it,  and  succeed. 
The  election  rests  with  yourself 

I  will  now  proceed  to  suggest  certain  facts,  and  items 
of  information,  of  a  character  to  assist  the  breeder  in 
his  enterprise.  I  say,  suggest ;  for  no  statement  which  I 
may  make  is  supposed  to  be  able  to  take  the  place  of 
thought  on  the  part  of  the  breeder.  You  must  use  your 
own  mind,  reader,  say  what  I  or  any  one  may.     My 


84  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

object,  then,  is  to  help  you  think,  to  stimulate  you  to 
thoughtfulness,  to  make  you  a  student  of  the  question 
yourself,  rather  than  impose  upon  you  certain  deduc- 
tions I  may  have  made,  and  insist  upon  your  accepting 
them  as  the  ultimate  truth.  Indeed,  there  is  much  of 
mystery  hanging  around  this  matter  of  procreation. 
What  is  this  power  which  shapes  things  yet  to  be? 
What  is  it  that  dictates  structure,  temperament,  destiny, 
causing  the  initial  germ  to  be  prophetic  of  the  per- 
fected result  ?  It  is  difficult  to  answer.  I  know  of  no 
one  who  has  answered  these  questions ; ,  nor  do  I  expect 
to  solve  the  problem :  I  only  make  my  contribution  to- 
ward the  fuller  discussion  of  the  subject.  I  simply 
propose  to  lay  before  the  reader  the  conclusions  which 
my  mind,  in  examination  of  the  subject,  has  already 
reached,  with  the  reasons  therefor. 

In  addition  to  knowledge,  certain  means  and  facilities 
are  needed  in  order  to  make  breeding  a  success.  Some 
money,  and  more  care,  must  be  spent  in  the  enterprise. 
The  stall  in  which  the  brood-mare  is  kept  should  be  dry 
and  roomy.  A  damp  stall,  where  the  mare  stands  and 
sleeps  on  a  manure-heap  pervaded  with  the  odor  of 
ammonia  and  decaying  substances,  is  totally  unfit,  as  any 
sensible  man  can  see,  for  an  animal  so  sensitively  organ- 
ized, and  in  such  a  delicate  condition.  The  brood-mare 
should  have  a  good-sized  stall  in  which  to  stand  during 
her  pregnancy,  and  be  well  and  warmly  bedded,  and  in 
every  way  well  treated.  Not  only  humane  impulse,  but 
pure  selfishness,  prompts  the  owner  to  this.    In  a  narrow 


BEEEDING.  —  HOW  TO   SUCCEED.  85 

stall,  ill  kept,  the  mare  is  liable  to  get  "  cast,"  and,  in 
her  struggles,  so  displace  the  foal  from  its  natural  posi- 
tion, that,  when  the  time  of  foaling  comes,  the  colt  can 
be  delivered  only  with  the  greatest  effort  and  pain,  if 
indeed  it  can  be  at  all.  Many  brood-mares  are  annually 
lost  from  this  cause  alone.  The  worst  accident  that 
can  happen  to  a  brood-mare  when  in  foal  is  this  getting 
''cast"  in  her  stall.  It  should  be  most  carefully 
guarded  against.  Especially  tie  loitli  a  short  halter. 
The  man  who  "ties  long,"  as  grooms  say,  warn  once; 
and,  if  he  does  not  heed  your  warning,  discharge.  Have 
no  mercy  on  him:  such  carelessness  is  too  gross  and 
fearful  in  its  consequences,  often,  to  be  tolerated  in  the 
management  of  valuable  horses.  I  came  near  losing 
one  of  my  finest  brood-mares,  a  thorough-bred  from  the 
South,  from  this  vicious  method  of  tying  in  the  stall. 
The  groom  left  the  halter  so  long,  that,  when  she  started 
to  get  up,  she  reached  one  of  her  fore-legs  over  the 
rope ;  and  there  she  was !  In  her  struggles,  the  rope  cut 
into  the  fore-arm,  tearing  the  hide  and  flesh  away  from 
the  muscles,  and  causing  a  most  ugly  wound.  Good 
treatment  and  a  sound  constitution  in  a  state  of  entire 
healthfulness  brought  her  out  of  the  peril  in  safety ; 
but  that  groom  never  "  ties  long  "  now  1 

Near  the  time  of  foaling,  —  say  two  or  three  weeks 
previous,  —  the  dam  should  be  put  into  a  "  breeding- 
box  "  or  "  foaling-stall."  This  should  be  some  twelve  by 
twenty  feet  in  size,  well  strewn  with  tan-bark,  saw-dust 
(dry),  gravel,  or  sand ;  indeed,  with  any  thing  that  will 


8(3  THE  PERFECT  HOESB. 

make  a  soft,  warm  bottom.    Over  this  the  straw-bedding 
should  be  strewn  a  foot  deep  at  least.     If  the  mare  is 
inclined  to  eat  her  bedding,  put  a  muzzle  on   her  (an 
ordinary  wire   or  splint    ox-basket  will    answer) ;    for 
it  is  not  wise  to  have  the  mare  fill  her  stomach  with 
coarse  feed  at  this  time.     The   floor  should   be   level, 
and  ''banked  up"  a  little  round  the  sides  and  in  the 
corners,  lest  in  rolling,  or  perhaps  in  the  act  of  foaling 
itself,  the   mare   should   get   over   upon   her  back,  or 
doubled  up  in  a  corner  in  such  a  way  as  to  embarrass 
her.       Too   much   care   cannot    be    exercised    by   the 
breeder  at  this  juncture ;  for  it  is  the  time  when  every 
thing  may  be  lost  by  inattention  and  neglect.      And  I 
put  it  down  among  the  necessities  of  a  breeder's  outfit, 
that  he  construct  a  good  foaling-hox  for  the  mare,  and 
attend   to   the   matter  essentially  as   I  have  suggested. 
Such  a  box  is  not  necessarily  expensive.      I  have  seen 
those  that  cost  five  hundred  dollars,  and  others  that  did 
not  exceed  fifteen ;    and,  for  all  practical  purposes,  the 
one  was  as  good  as  the  other.     The  conditions  I  suggest 
are  not  those  essential  for  ornament,  but  for  safety. 

Another  matter  of  prime  importance  to  a  breeder  is 
this  :  How  far  is  he  from  a  good  stock-horse  ?  Trans- 
portation costs:  it  is  also  perilous.  When  the  writer 
began  to  breed,  he  was  compelled  to  transport  his  brood- 
mares two  hundred  miles  to  be  covered.  He  has  seen 
half  his  stable  of  choice  animals  go  rushing  along  through 
the  darkness  and  fog  in  a  miserable  old  freight-car,  at 
the  rate  of  thirty  miles  an  hour ;  and  the  sensation  he 


BREEDING.  —  HOW  TO  SUCCEED.  87 

experienced  was  not  an  agreeable  one.  A  man  dislikes 
to  see  his  property  treated  in  that  way,  especially  if  it  is 
property  selected  with  care  and  at  large  expense,  and  of 
a  character  not  easily  to  be  duplicated.  The  expense, 
also,  is  considerable,  and  eats  into  the  profits  disastrously. 
I  presume  my  first  three  colts  cost  me,  when  weaned, 
four  hundred  dollars  each.  Even  at  that  price,  it  paid ; 
but  it  lessened  the  per  cent  of  profit  decidedly.  Among 
the  conditions  of  success  in  breeding,  therefore,  I 
place  this  as  a  prime  one,  —  local  nearness,  and  easy 
access  to  a  desirable  stock-horse.  The  cost  of  his 
service  is  of  less  account,  because  this  is  generally 
settled  by  the  reputation  of  himself  and  his  get ;  and 
so  the  breeder  shares  in  the  profit  of  his  fame  with  the 
owner.  But  the  distance  of  his  stable  from  yours, 
which  includes  transportation,  with  its  attendant  cost 
and  risks ;  the  interruption  it  brings  to  your  business, 
&c.,  —  these  must  be  carefully  considered  by  the 
breeder,  or  he  will  find  that  his  profit  is  gone  before  the 
colt  is  foaled.  A  distance  that  he  can  drive  in  two  days 
is  of  no  great  moment ;  but  farther  than  this  I  should 
advise  no  breeder  who  is  breeding  on  business-principles, 
for  financial  profit,  to  go.  To  attempt  to  breed  from  a 
stock-horse  at  a  great  distance  from  your  stables,  is,  so 
far  as  my  experience  and  observation  go,  unwise,  and 
likely  to  result  in  loss. 

Above  all,  it  is  folly  to  breed  inferior  stock.  Nothing 
\s  to  be  made  from  it,  as  mountains  of  testimony  prove. 
*'  The  best  or  none  "  should  be  the  motto  of  the  Eastern 
breeder. 


88  THE  PERFECT  HORSE. 

There  are  otlier  conditions  of  success  to  be  enumerated ; 
but,  as  they  relate  more  to  the  knowledge  derived  from 
the  study  of  the  horse  himself  than  in  the  surroundings 
and  appointments  of  the  establishment,  they  more  natu- 
rally fall  into  another  division  of  this  work ;  to  which  we 
now  invite  the  reader's  attention.  Let  us  now  consider 
the  principles  that  underlie  successful  propagation  of  the 
horse,  and  the  elements  needed  in  either  parent. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


THE   SIRE. 


There  are  certain  general  views  touching  the  influ- 
ence of  the   sire  on  his  stock,  which  every  one  who 
is  intending  to  breed  should  be  aware  of.     There  are 
certain  cautions  which  it  behooves  every  writer,  who 
attempts  to  give  people  instruction  in  the  business  of 
breeding,  to  give  frankly  to   his  readers.     I  propose, 
therefore,  in  this  division  of  the  work,  to  enter  into  a  full 
discussion  of  the  matter,  and  give  my  ideas  at  length 
concerning  the  influence  of  the  sire  on  his  stock.     In- 
deed, as  I  have  already  sketched  the  outlines  of  a  per- 
fect horse,  and  described  the  different  points  and  char- 
acteristics which    must    distinguish    such  an   animal,    I 
now  propose  to  sketch  a  perfect  stock-horse,  and  there- 
by supply  my  readers  with  a  standard  in  breeding,  as  I 
have   already  done   in   purchasing.     In    short,   having 
described  a  perfect  horse,  I  will  now  describe  the  way 
in  which  he  can  be  propagated. 

The  first,  and  to  my  mind  the  most  essential  fact  to  be 
borne  in  mind  by  a  breeder  is,  that  the  propagating 


90  THE  PERFECT  HORSE. 

principle   or   capacity  does  not  inhere   in  all  stallions 
alike.     It  does  not  follow  that  a  stallion,  however  per- 
fect he  may  be  both  in  conformation  and  temperament, 
will  make  a  good  stock-horse,   or  prove  a  source  of 
profit  to  those  who  patronize  him.     It  is  at  this  point 
that  so  many  blunders  are  made,  and  from  which  so 
many  failures  result.     At  this  point  two  roads  diverge, 
one  of  which  leads  to  success,  the  other  to  certain  disas- 
ter.    How  essential,  then,  that  a  warning  and  directing 
hand  should  be  set  up  at  this  point,  seeing  which  no 
breeder  can  be  uncertain  which  path  to  take !      The 
fact  is  this,  that  in  addition  to  temperament  and  per- 
fection of  structure,  over  and  above  desirableness  of 
nervous   and   muscular  organization,   there    does   exist 
in   certain   horses   the  power  to  propagate  their  most 
perfect  points  and  characteristics,  which  other  horses, 
equally  perfect   in   themselves,   perhaps   do  not  have. 
What  this  power  is,  or  where  it  is,  or  how  the  horse 
comes  by  it,  no  one  can  tell.     It  cannot  be  implied: 
nothing   short   of  an   actual  demonstration  can  prove 
that  it  exists.     It  is  this  which  makes  a  stallion  wor- 
thy  to   be   kept   as   a   stock-horse ;    and  nothing   else 
can.     No   matter  how  beautiful,   nor  how  sound,  nor 
how  speedy,  nor  how  well  connected  in  pedigree,   a 
colt   may  be:    he    should  never  be  advertised  to  the 
breeding  public,  until,  by  actual  service  with  his  own 
brood-marcs,  his  owner  is  made  aware  of  his  capacity 
to  reproduce  his  own  excellences  in  his  get.     I  main- 
tain that  any  other  course  includes  a  fraud  upon  the 


THE   SIRE.  91 

public,  in  that  he  advertises  as  certain  what  he  knows, 
or  should  know,  is  extremely  uncertain ;  for  this  repro- 
ducing capacity  is  withheld  by  some  strange  freak  or 
unascertained  reason  of  nature  from  most  horses,  and 
bestowed  only  upon  the  few.  Out  of  a  hundred  stallions 
in  a  State,  only  two  or  three  ever  become  justly  famous. 
The  strangest  and  most  unaccountable  thing  of  the 
whole  matter  is,  that  many  horses  for  which  the  best 
judges  would  surely  predict  success,  prove,  upon  trial, 
lamentable  failures;  while  others  less  esteemed  become 
heads  of  families,  and  live  with  increasing  honor  with 
the  birth  of  every  generation  of  their  descendants.  It 
is  not  from  the  winners  of  the  St.  Leger  and  the  Derby 
that  England  has  received  her  fastest  stock.  These 
winners,  in  cases  numberless,  were  out  of  the  loins  of 
horses  by  no  means  noted,  but  which  gave  to  their  sons 
and  daughters  that  which  made  both  parent  and  chil- 
dren immortal.  Instances  too  numerous  to  mention 
might  be  quoted ;  but  the  principle  is  too  fully  admitted 
to  require  argument  and  illustration.  The  fact  stands 
admitted,  that,  until  a  stallion  has  been  actually  tested 
in  the  stud,  it  is  useless  to  predict  whether  he  will  be 
valuable  as  a  stock-horse  or  not,  and  folly  for  the  gen- 
eral public  to  breed  to  him. 

Among  the  horses  which  excel  in  this  peculiarity,  at 
the  very  head  of  the  list  may  perhaps  be  placed  old 
Justin  Morgan.  The  reproducing  capacity  of  this 
horse,  considering  the  treatment  he  received,  was 
simply  marvellous.     Unappreciated  and  abused  half  of 


92  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

his  life,  it  was  the  merest  caccident  that  his  value  as  a 
stock-horse  was  discovered  at  all ;  and  even  then  he 
was  bred  indiscriminately  to  mares,  unassisted  by  the 
least  intelligence  in  the  matter.  Still,  in  spite  of  all 
obstacles  which  neglect  and  ignorance  opposed,  the 
reproductive  faculty  was  so  superlatively  strong  in  him, 
that  he  founded  a  family  truer  to  the  original  type,  and 
more  able  to  protect  itself  from  the  infringements  of 
foreign  blood,  than  any  family  of  horses,  perhaps,  that 
the  world  has  ever  seen.  Whatever  men  may  say  for 
or  against  the  Morgan  horse  jyer  se,  none  can  deny  that 
his  blood  was  strong  enough  to  dominate  over  every 
blood  with  which  it  was  brought  in  contact.  No 
matter  to  what  mare  he  was  bred,  the  offspring  w^as 
invariably  a  Morgan  colt.  In  outward  conformation  of 
structure,  in  color,  in  temperament,  in  style  of  action, 
and  even  habits  of  the  stable,  the  foal  grew  up  to  look 
and  act  like  the  sire.  Not  only  was  this  reproductive 
faculty  strong  in  the  old  horse,  but  he  transmitted  it  to 
his  sons  ;  which  is  the  highest  form  of  all  excellence  in 
a  stock-horse.  Nor  did  this  power  die  out  in  one  or 
two  generations,  but  continued  on  like  a  stream  having 
a  constant  source;  and  might  have  been  prolonged, 
doubtless,  unto  this  day,  had  not  the  State  which  had 
been  enriched  and  made  famous  by  this  animal  and  his 
descendants  committed  financial  suicide  by  allowing 
the  family  to  be  scattered,  and  the  family  type  itself 
bought  away  from  it.  Not  alone  Vermont,  but  the  en- 
tire country  were  losers  when  the  Morgan  family  ceased 


THE  SIRE. 


93 


to  have  "a  local  habitation,''  although  it  could  never 
cease  to  have  "a  name."     In  proof  of  the  perpetuation 
and  continuity  of  this  reproductive  faculty  in  the  Mor- 
gan family,  even  in  our  time,  might  be  mentioned  Ethan 
Allen,  sired  by  Black  Hawk ;   and  Taggart's  Abdallah, 
whose  grandsire  was  the  famous  Gifford  Morgan,  —  per- 
haps the  most  beautiful  horse  ever  ridden  at  a  military 
parade.     Of  the  speed  of  these  two  famous  stallions  — 
the  former  of  which  has  trotted  a  mile  faster  than  any 
horse  that  has  ever  lived,  and  the  latter  of  which  is, 
in  our  opinion,    the   highest   type  of  a  stock-horse  in 
the    country — we    shall    speak   more    fully  hereafter. 
Enough    at    this    point   to    say    that    they    are   lineal 
descendants  from  the   original    Morgan,  and  illustrate 
the  assertion  which  we  made  above.     As  a  further  illus- 
tration of  this  principle,  if  any  were  needed,  running  all 
through  the  Morgan  family,  especially  in   case   of  the 
male  colts,  I  might  mention  Old  Morrill,  grandsire   of 
Draco,  Mountain  Maid,  Hiram  AYoodruff,  and  the  justly 
celebrated   Fearnaught.     Here   is  another   descendant 
by  a  direct  line  from  Justin  Morgan,  marked  strongly 
with  the  family  type  ;  marking  his  colts  with  the   same 
type,  fighting  bravely,  and  maintaining  himself  against 
the  incoming   of  foreign  elements,  —  elements  too,  be 
it   said,  of  the  most  potent   character.      Look  at  the 
pedigree  of  Old  ]\Iorrill  as  exhibited  in  Table  Y.  of 
the  Supplement,  and  observe  how  the   Morgan  blood 
has  to  contend  for  the  possession  of  the  channel  against 
three  currents  that  find  their  source  in  imported  Dio- 


94  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

med,  and  three  other  streams  that  come  pouring  in 
like  a  torrent  from  imported  Messenger ;  and  yet  the 
Morgan  blood  is  royal  enough  to  contend  at  odds 
against  royalty,  and  takes  the  six  streams  of  imported 
blood,  mingles  it  with  itself,  and  rolls  along  as  calmly 
and  as  true  to  itself  as  before.  I  trust  I  am  not  opin- 
ionated; but  I  would  ask.  What  other  horse,  imported 
or  home-bred,  has  ever  founded  a  family  able  to  per- 
petuate its  characteristics,  and  defend  itself  against  the 
intrusion  of  foreign  blood,  as  has  the  Morgan?  Where 
is  the  imported  Messenger  type  invariably  true  to  itself? 
Where  is  imported  Diomed,  as  discerned  in  his  descend- 
ants ?  Where  is  imported  Bashaw,  out  of  whose  trunk 
the  Clay  branches  have  all  sprung?  Where  is  any 
horse,  or  family  of  horses,  whose  type  of  outward  con- 
formation and  temperament  even  have  survived  seventy 
years  of  outcrossing  and  admixture  ?  The  horse  and 
family  do  not  live,  I  reply.  The  Morgan,  and  the 
Morgan  alone,  is  worthy  to  stand  upon  the  pedestal  in 
answer  to  such  an  interrogation.  Whatever  else  he 
lacked,  neither  he  nor  his  descendants  lacked  or  lack 
the  power  to  reproduce  themselves.  It  is  for  this 
reason  that  I  give  it  as  my  deliberate  opinion,  that, 
other  things  being  equal,  the  stallion  with  the  largest 
amount  of  Morgan  blood  in  his  veins  will  prove  the 
best  stock-horse.  It  is  undoubtedly  to  the  presence 
of  this  blood  in  their  veins  that  Fearnaught,  Ethan 
Allen  and  his  son  Lambert,  Taggart's.Abdallah  and  his 
descendants,  and  the  Morrills  of  Vermont,  are  able  to  mark 


THE   SIRE.  95 

their  offspring  with  their  own  characteristics.  They 
are  indebted,  every  one  of  them,  to  their  old  ancestor, 
Justin  ^lorgan,  for  the  possession  of  that  rarest  of  all 
faculties  in  horses,  —  the  power  to  reproduce  their  own 
excellences,  —  and  which,  derived  from  him,  has  won 
them  fame,  and  their  owners  large  incomes.  We  all 
live  in  debt  to-day  to  an  animal  which  so  many  horse- 
men underrate,  if  not  despise,  but  which,  in  our 
opinion,  gave  to  the  country  more  handsome,  docile, 
serviceable,  and  fast  horses,  than  any  animal  America 
ever  had.  But,  leaving  this  topic  for  subsequent  dis- 
cussion, —  and  we  propose  to  give  the  reasons  for  our 
emphatic  assertion  before  we  are  done, — we  lay  it  down 
as  the  first  maxim  of  intelligent  breeding,  that  a  stock- 
horse  is  to  he  judged  hij  his  stock  rather  than  hy  himself 
and  that  the  stallion  that  gets  the  best  colts  is  the  best  one 
to  patronize. 

But  what  is  it  that  the  sire  gives  to  his  descendants  ? 
and  how  far,  and  in  what,  as  compared  to  the  dam, 
does  he  dominate  over  his  offspring?  This,  perhaps, 
should  be  the  next  point  for  us  to  consider.  We  will 
proceed  to  do  so ;  premising,  at  the  start,  that  the 
answer  will  not,  in  all  points,  be  full  or  satisfactory. 
Indeed,  the  processes  ot  Nature  are  often  hidden,  and 
the  springs  of  her  influence  concealed ;  nor  can  man  by 
searching  find  them  out.  Especially  is  this  true  in  this 
matter  of  the  causation  and  reproduction  of  life.  The 
mists  and  vapors  which  geologists  tell  us  swathed  the 
infant  world  in  the  creation  period  swathe  all  infant  life 


96  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

to-day.  It  exists  in  unknown  conditions  and  obscure 
relations  before  it  is  seen.  How  much  the  boy  owes  to 
the  father,  and  how  much  to  the  mother,  and  how  he 
came  to  owe  the  same,  or  more,  to  one  than  to  the 
other,  we  do  not  know.  How  much  nature  is  shaped 
in  the  germ,  independent  of  condition  and  circum- 
stance, or  how  much,  on  the  other  hand,  circumstance 
and  condition  affect  the  germ,  who  can  say  ?  We  can 
speculate;  we  can  dogmatize:  but,  while  the  created 
mind  is  ignorant  of  the  processes  of  its  own  creation, 
life,  in  its  origin  and  pre-natal  conditions,  must  remain 
largely  a  mystery.  Before  I  express  my  own  views,  I 
will  put  before  the  reader  the  following  principles  of 
breeding,  as  published  in  ''  The  Horse-Owner's  Cyclopae- 
dia," page  99,  and  which  have  been  highly  indorsed  by 
no  less  an  authority  than  the  late  Mr.  Herbert  ("  Frank 
Forester"). 

The  author  says,  under  the  head  of 

THEORY    OF    GENERATION, 

"1.  The  union  of  the  sexes  is,  in  all  the  higher  ani- 
mals, necessary  for  reproduction ;  the  male  and  female 
each  taking  their  respective  share. 

"  2.  The  office  of  the  male  is  to  secrete  the  semen 
in  the  testes,  and  emit  it  into  the  uterus  of  the  female, 
in  or  near  which  organ  it  comes  in  contact  with 
the  ovum  of  the  female,  which  remains  sterile  with- 
out it. 

"  3.  The  female  forms  the  ovum  in  the  ovary,  and  at 


THE   SIRE.  97 

regular  times,  varying  in  different  animals,  this  descends 
into  the  uterus^  for  the  purpose  of  fructification,  on  re- 
ceiving the  stimulus  and  addition  of  the  sperm-cell  of 
the  semen. 

"  4.  The  semen  consists  of  two  portions,  —  the  sperma- 
tozoa^ which  have  an  automatic  power  of  moving  from 
place  to  place,  by  which  quality  it  is  believed  that  the 
semen  is  carried  to  the  ovum ;  and  the  sperm-cells^ 
which  are  intended  to  co-operat6  with  the  germ-cell  of 
the  ovum  in  forming  the  embryo. 

*'5.  The  ovum  consists  of  the  germ-cell  —  intended  to 
form  part  of  the  embryo  —  and  of  the  yolk^  which 
nourishes  both  until  the  vessels  of  the  mother  take 
upon  themselves  the  task  ;  or,  in  oviparous  animals,  till 
hatching  takes  place,  and  external  food  is  to  be  obtained. 
The  ovum  is  carried  down  by  the  contractile  power  of 
the  Fallopian  tubes  from  the  ovary  to  the  uterus ;  and 
hence  it  does  not  require  automatic  particles  like  the 
semen. 

''  6.  The  embryo,  or  young  animal,  is  the  result  of  the 
contact  of  the  semen  with  the  oviimj  immediately  after 
which  the  sperm-cell  of  the  former  is  absorbed  into  the 
germ-cell  of  the  latter.  Upon  this  a  tendency  to  in- 
crease or  '  grow '  is  established  and  supported  at  first 
by  the  nutriment  contained  in  the  yolk  of  the  ovum, 
until  the  embryo  has  attached  itself  to  the  walls  of  the 
uterus,  from  which  it  afterwards  absorbs  its  nourishment 
by  the  intervention  of  the  placenta. 

"7.    As  THE   MALE   AND   FEMALE   cacli  fumisli   their 


98  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

quota  to  the  formation  of  the  embryo^  it  is  reasonahle  to 
expect  that  each  shall  he  represented  in  it  j  which  is 
found  to  he  the  case  in  nature,  But^  as  the  food  of  the 
emhryo  entirely  depends  upon  the  mother,^  it  may  he 
expected  that  the  health  of  the  offspring^  and  its  constitu- 
tional poioers^  will  he  more  in  accordance  with  her  state 
than  with  that  of  the  father :  yet,,  since  the  sire  furnishes 
one-half  of  the  original  germ,,  it  is  not  surprising^  that,, 
in  external  and  general  character,,  there  is  retained  a 
FACSIMILE,  to  a  certain  extent^  of  him. 

"  8.  The  ovum  of  mammalia  differs  from  that  of  birds 
cliiefly  in  the  greater  size  of  the  yolk  of  the  latter,  be- 
cause in  them  this  body  is  intended  to  support  the 
growth  of  the  embryo  from  the  time  of  the  full  forma- 
tion of  the  egg  until  the  period  of  hatching.  On  the 
other  hand,  in  mammalia  the  placenta  conveys  nourish- 
ment from  the  internal  surface  of  the  uterus  to  the  em- 
bryo during  the  whole  time  which  elapses  between  the 
entrance  of  the  ovum  into  the  uterus  and  its  birth. 
This  period  embraces  nearly  the  whole  of  the  interval 
between  conception  and  birth,  and  is  called  utero-gesta- 
tion. 

*'  9.     In    all    THE    mammalia    THERE     IS    A     PERIODICAL 

'iiEAT,'  marked  by  certain  discharges  in  the  female, 
and  sometimes  by  other  remarkable  symptoms  in  the 
male  (as  in  the  rutting  of  the  deer).  In  the  former  it 
is  accompanied,  in  all  healthy  subjects,  by  the  descent 
of  an  ovum,  or  ova,  into  the  uterus ;  and  in  both  there 
is  a  strong  desire  for  sexual  intercourse,  which  never 


THE  SIRE.  99 

takes  place   at   other  times  in  them  (with  the   single 
exception  of  the  genus  Dimana). 

"10.  The  semen  retains  its  fructifying  power  for  some 
days  if  it  is  contained  within  the  walls  of  the  uterus  or 
vagina,  but  soon  ceases  to  be  fruitful  if  kept  in  any 
other  vessel.  Hence,  although  the  latter  part  of  the 
time  of  heat  is  the  best  for  the  union  of  the  sexes,  be- 
cause then  the  ovum  is  ready  for  the  contact  with  the 
semen,  yet,  if  the  semen  reaches  the  uterus  first,  it  will 
still  cause  a  fruitful  impregnation,  because  it  remains 
there  (or  in  the  Fallopian  tubes)  uninjured  until  the 
descent  of  the  ovum. 

"11.  The  influence  of  the  male  upon  the  embryo  is 
partly  dependent  upon  the  fact  that  he  furnishes  a  por- 
tion of  its  substance  in  the  shape  of  the  sperm-cell,  but 
also,  in  great  measure,  upon  the  effect  exerted  upon  the 
nervous  system  of  the  mother  by  him.  Hence  the  pre- 
ponderance of  one  or  other  of  the  parents  will,  in  great 
measure,  depend  upon  the  greater  or  less  strength  of 
nervous  system  in  each.  No  general  law  is  known  by 
which  this  can  be  measured ;  nor  is  any  thing  known  of 
the  laws  which  regulate  the  temperament,  bodily  or 
mental  power,  color  or  conformation,  of  the  resulting 
offspring. 

"12.  Acquired  qualities  are  transmitted,  whether 
they  belong  to  the  sire  or  dam ;  and  also  both  bodily 
and  mental.  As  bad  qualities  are  quite  as  easily  trans- 
mitted as  good  ones,  if  not  more  so,  it  is  necessary  to 
take  care,  that,  in  selecting  a  male  to  improve  the  stock, 


100  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

he  is  free  from  bad  points,  as  well  as  furnished  with 
good  ones.  It  is  known  by  experience  that  the  good 
or  bad  points  of  the  progenitors  of  the  sire  or  dam  are 
almost  as  likely  to  appear  again  in  the  offspring  as  those 
of  the  immediate  parents  in  whom  they  are  dormant. 
Hence,  in  breeding,  the  rule  is,  that  like  produces  like, 
or  the  likeness  of  some  ancestor. 

"13.  The  purer  or  less  mixed  the  breed,  the  more 
likely  it  is  to  be  transmitted  unaltered  to  the  offspring. 
Hence,  whichever  parent  is  of  the  purest  blood  will  be 
generally  more  represented  in  the  offspring:  but  as  the 
male  is  usually  more  carefully  selected,  and  of  purer 
blood,  than  the  female,  it  generally  follows  that  he  ex- 
erts more  influence  than  she  does;  the  reverse  being 
the  case  when  she  is  of  more  unmixed  blood  than  the 
sire. 

"14.  Breeding  'in-and-in'  is  injurious  to  mankind, 
and  has  always  been  forbidden  by  the  divine  law,  as 
well  as  by  most  human  lawgivers.  On  the  other  hand, 
it  prevails  extensively  in  a  state  of  nature  with  all  gre- 
garious animals  (such  as  the  horse),  among  whom  the 
strongest  male  retains  his  daughters  and  grand-daughters 
until  deprived  of  his  harem  by  younger  and  stronger 
rivals.  Hence,  in  those  of  our  domestic  animals  which 
are  naturally  gregarious,  it  is  reasonable  to  conclude 
that  breeding  'in-and-in'  is  not  prejudicial,  because  it 
is  in  conformity  with  their  natural  instincts,  if  not  car- 
ried farther  by  art  than  Nature  teaches  by  her  example. 
Now,  in  nature,  we  find  about  two  consecutive  crosses 


THE    SIRE.  101 

of  the  same  blood  is  the  usual  extent  to  which  it  is  car- 
ried, as  the  life  of  the  animal  is  the  limit ;  and  it  is  a 
remarkable  fact,  that,  in  practice,  a  conclusion  has  been 
arrived  at  which  exactly  coincides  with  these  natural 
laws.  '  Once  in  and  once  out '  is  the  rule  for  breeding 
given  by  Mr.  Smith  in  his  work  on  the  breeding  for  the 
turf;  but  twice  in  will  be  found  to  be  more  in  accord- 
ance with  the  practice  of  our  most  successful  (early) 
breeders. 

*'  15.  The  influence  of  the"  first  impregnation  seems 
to  extend  to  the  subsequent  ones :  this  has  been  proved 
by  several  experiments,  and  is  especially  marked  in  the 
equine  genus.  In  the  series  of  examples  preserved  in 
the  Museum  of  the  College  of  Surgeons,  the  markings 
of  the  male  quagga,  when  united  with  the  ordinary 
mare,  are  continued  clearly  for  three  generations  beyond 
the  one  in  which  the  quagga  was  the  actual  sire ;  and 
they  are  so  clear  as  to  leave  the  question  settled  without 
a  doubt. 

"16.  When  some  of  the  elements  of  which  an  indi- 
vidual sire  is  composed  are  in  accordance  with  others 
making  up  those  of  the  dam,  they  coalesce  in  such  a 
kindred  way  as  to  make  what  is  called  'a  hit'  On  the 
other  hand,  when  they  are  too  incongruous,  an  animal 
is  the  result  wholly  unfitted  for  the  task  he  is  intended 
to  perform." 

The  above  rules,  or  "  principles  "  as  the  author  names 
them,  appear  to  me  to  be  in  the  main  correct,  and  of 
great  value  to  the  student  of  the  question ;  but  they  do 


102  THE  PERFECT   HOESE. 

not  supply  that  detailed  knowledge  required  by  the 
breeder,  nor  are  they  sustained  by  such  testimony  of 
fact  and  illustration  as  one  might  desire. 

The  Arabs  hold  that  the  essential  portions  of  the 
body,  such  as  the  bones,  tendons,  nerves,  and  veins,  pro- 
ceed invariably  from  the  sire ;  and  it  is  undoubtedly 
true  that  the  shape  of  the  bones,  and  nervous  dis- 
eases, and  weaknesses  of  the  bone-structure,  are  derived 
principally  from  that  source.  I  would  sooner  breed,  for 
instance,  a  diseased  mare  to,  a  healthy  stallion,  than  a 
healthy  mare  to  a  diseased  stallion. 

Certain  it  is  that  from  the  sire  the  colt  commonly 
derives  his  nervous  vigor,  and  those  moral  qualities 
which  serve  to  distinguish  and  ennoble  the  well-bred 
horse.  The  Arabs  have  this  maxim,  "  A  horse  of  noble 
race  has  no  vices ;  "  and  also  this,  "  The  foal  follows 
the  sire." 

With  this  estimation  I  do  not  at  all  agree.  The 
instances  in  which  the  foal  does  not  follow  the  sire  are 
too  numerous  for  us  to  allow  that  the  Arabian  maxim  is 
worthy  of  being  regarded  as  a  law.  Even  a  casual 
inspection  of  my  own  stables,  or  the  stables  of  any 
breeder,  would  cause  a  grave  suspicion  to  arise  in  any 
thoughtful  mind  touching  the  Eastern  adage.  I  have, 
for  instance,  in  my  stables,  dams  whose  foals  invariably 
resemble  the  sire  in  size,  shape,  color,  style  of  going,  and 
even  in  temperament ;  and  these  mares  are  valued  by 
me  as  almost  beyond  price,  because  of  this  peculiarity. 
/  know  beforehand  what  I  shall  get.     On  the  other  hand, 


THE   SIRE. 


103 


I  have  two  other  mares  whose  colts  invariably  resemble 
themselves,  or  some  one  of  their  parental  ancestors.  So 
true  is  this,  that  I  can  calculate  before  the  foal  appears 
what  he  will  not  be,  although  I  may  not  easily  tell  what 
he  luill  be.  Such  are  the  facts  in  my  own  stables ;  and 
they  harmonize  perfectly  with  the  results  of  observa- 
tion in  many  other  breeding  establishments.  The  law 
plainly  suggested  by  inference  from  these  facts  is  this, 
that  the  animal  with  the  strongest  vitality  marks  the  foal. 
If  the  dam  be  most  highly  organized,  then  the  foal  will 
resemble  the  dam ;  if  the  sire,  then  the  foal  will  resem- 
ble the  sire.  This  is  the  law,  as  we  all  know,  in  the 
human  family :  if  the  mother  be  of  nervous,  sanguine 
temperament,  and  the  father  lymphatic  and  sluggish, 
the  child  will  take  after  the  mother ;  if  the  conditions 
be  reversed,  the  result  will  be  the  reverse.  Exceptions 
there  may  be  and  are ;  but  the  law  stands  firm,  vindi- 
cating its  truth  with  each  successive  generation.  I  am 
bound,  nevertheless,  to  say  that  this  law  does  not  hold 
good  in  cases  where  we  should  naturally  expect  it 
would.  To  illustrate  :  According  to  the  law,  when  a 
low-blooded  mare  is  bred  to  a  thorough-bred  horse,  the 
foal  should  resemble  the  sire  ;  but,  alas !  too  often  he 
does  not.  On  the  other  hand,  according  to  the  law,  a 
blooded-mare  bred  to  a  low-blooded  horse  should  bring 
forth  a  colt  like  herself ;  but  neither  is  this  true.  What, 
then,  becomes  of  the  law?  I  confess  that  I  do  not 
know  ;  nor  have  I  been  able  to  find  in  the  works  of  any 
author  a  satisfactory  answer  to  the  puzzle.     Practically 


104  THE  PERFECT  HORSE. 

although  I  cannot  philosophically  account  for  my  pref- 
erence, —  yet  practically^  I  say,  we  know  that  it  is  far 
better  to  have  a  high,  fine  organization  in  the  sire,  and 
let  the  low  organization,  if  it  must  exist  in  either  parent, 
be  on  the  side  of  the  dam.  The  fact  is,  both  parents 
should  be  highly  organized  ;  and  any  thing  short  of  this 
introduces  uncertainty  as  to  what  the  result  of  the  ex- 
periment Avill  be.  The  only  infallible  rule  —  the  best 
statement  ever  given  touching  the  reproduction  of  any 
form  of  life  —  was  published  by  God  himself  in  his 
inspired  word,  when  he  said,  ''  Let  the  earth  bring 
forth  the  living  creature  after  Ms  IdndP  This,  never- 
theless, must  be  observed,  —  that  the  power  to  bring 
forth  after  Ms  hind  —  if  hy  Ms  kind  we  mean  personal 
resemblances  rather  than  generic  attributes  —  does  not 
belong  to  the  horse  as  a  race,  but  to  the  horse  as  an  indi- 
vidual ;  for,  as  we  have  already  pointed  out  in  the  case 
of  Justin  Morgan,  this  faculty  of  reproducing  excel- 
lences is  individual,  and  not  general.  And  so  we 
come  back  to  the  same  observation  previously  made  in 
regard  to  what  constituted  a  valuable  stock-horse,  — viz., 
that  the  best  horse  is  he,  who,  being  good  in  himself, 
most  surely  and  closely  reproduces  himself  in  his  off- 
spring ;  and  to  this  formula  should  now  be  added  the 
words,  lolien  bred  to  the  mares  of  the  greatest  variety  of 
form  and  temperament.  Let  us,  then,  turn  our  atten- 
tion to  the  consideration  and  enumeration  of  those 
attributes,  which,  being  possessed,  render  a  horse  unfit 
for  stock-purposes.      The  first  we  have  already  men- 


THE  SIRE.  105 

tioned,  —  the  inability  to  reproduce  themselves.      The 
second  point  to  be  observed  is  this,  —  avoid 

A    LOW-BRED    STALLION. 

This  term  "low-bred"  is  not  a  mere  technical  term,  a 
creation  of  a  ring  of  horsemen,  but  represents  some- 
thing solid  and  tangible  to  the  understanding.  A  low- 
bred horse  is  faulty  in  his  bone-structure,  vicious  in  his 
temper,  sluggish  in  action,  and  lacking  in  those  higher 
qualities  —  such  as  courage,  docility,  and  beauty  — 
which  distinguish  a  well-bred  horse.  The  term  also 
describes  his  ancestry,  and  links  a  base  result  with 
base  causes.  I  do  not  wish  to  be  understood  as  saying 
that  a  thorough-bred  stallion  is  invariably  worthy  of  the 
stud;  for,  as  I  have  already  pointed  out,  only  now  and 
then  one  is :  but  while  the  thorough-bred  may  be,  or 
may  not  be,  a  low-bred  brute  never  is.  Beware  of  nothing 
so  much  as  a  low-bred  stock-horse.  His  services  cannot 
be  offered  so  cheap,  that  they  will  not,  in  the  end,  prove 
dear ;  because  the  colts  from  such  a  horse,  when  ready 
for  the  market,  will  bring  less  than  they  have  cost  the 
owner  to  raise  them.  No  stallion  without  a  good  sound 
pedigree  should  ever  be  patronized. 

The  law  in  respect  to  this  matter  is,  that  the  foals  will, 
in  most  cases,  resemble  the  father,  or  some  precedent 
ancestor ;  in  either  of  which  cases  the  result  will  be 
equally  unfortunate.  It  cannot  be  denied  that  the 
characteristics  of  ancestors  do  continue,  ever  and  anon, 
to  re-appear  in  their  descendants  :   and  hence,  in  breed- 


106  THE  PERFECT   HOKSE. 

ing  horses,  pedigree  —  that  is,  the  character  not  only  of 
the  parents,  but  also  of  grandparents  and  great-grand- 
parents— becomes  worthy  of  close  attention  ;  and  when 
the  pedigree  of  dam  and  sire  both  is  known  to  be  good, 
and  they  themselves  are  good,  it  is  evident  that  little 
fear  may  be  felt  touching  the  character  of  the  foal. 
For  if  he  resembles  his  immediate  parents,  or  if,  skip- 
ping these,  he  appears  stamped  with  the  impress  of  some 
ancestor,  the  result  must,  in  either  case,  be  the  same. 
This  it  is  which  gives  to  the  pedigrees  their  value  in  the 
eye  of  the  breeder.  It  guarantees  him  against  total 
failure,  to  say  the  least;  and  insures  a  greater  success 
than  the  quality  of  the  immediate  parents  would  per- 
haps make  possible.  But,  if  a  horse  without  a  pedigree 
should  never  be  patronized,  the  breeder  should  bear  in 
mind  that  a  good  pedigree  does  not  make  a  good  horse. 
I  have  known  animals,  with  a  pedigree  as  long  as  your 
arm,  who  were  not  worthy  of  the  least  attention.  Find 
the  horse  first ;  then  examine  the  pedigree  :  and  if  they 
correspond,  and  mutually  sustain  each  other,  then  pur- 
chase ;  for  you  have  met  an  animal  greatly  to  be  desired. 
Remember  always,  that  none  save  the  highest  types  of  a 
family  can  be  expected  to  reproduce  the  valuable  char- 
acteristics of  the  family.  Because  a  stallion  was  sired  by 
Rysdyk's  Ilambletonian,  it  does  not  follow  that  he  is 
worthy  of  being  bought  or  kept  for  a  stock-horse  ;  and 
yet,  with  many  of  our  committees  at  agricultural  fiiirs, 
the  fact  that  a  colt  was  sired  by  a  Rysdyk's  Hambletonian 
is  enough  to  secure  for  him  both  attention  and  the  prize. 


THE   SIBE.  107 


.     VICIOUS    STALLIONS. 

Especially  I  would  urge  all  breeders  to  avoid  vicious 
and  irritable  seed-horses.  The  idea  that  a  stallion  is 
less  amiable  than  a  gelding  is  both  contrary  to  nature 
and  observation,  and,  in  common  with  many  other 
erroneous  opinions  resulting  from  ignorance,  confined 
to  this  country.  An  irritable  temper  and  a  vicious  dis- 
position are  hereditary  —  superlatively  so  —  in  horses  as 
well  as  in  men.  I  know  families  that  have  been  noted 
for  fretfulness  and  ugliness  of  spirit  for  generations. 
Viciousness  seems  to  be  the  family  mark :  it  comes  down 
from  sire  to  son  in  uninterrupted  sequence.  So  it  is 
with  horses.  A  vicious  sire  begets  a  vicious  colt. 
Exceptions  there  may  be ;  but  the  law  holds  good  in  the 
main.  I  have  known  a  seed-horse  at  death  leave  the 
county  where  he  stood  full  of  ugly  brutes :  they  were 
intractable,  fretful,  hard  to  teach ;  they  would  rear,  bite, 
and  kick.  You  could  never  make  them  docile  and 
kind:  they  were  unpleasant  and  dangerous.  Now,  I 
hold  that  no  one  should  breed  to  such  a  horse.  No 
perfection  of  muscle  and  frame,  no  high-sounding 
pedigree,  no  marvellous  record  on  the  turf,  would  in- 
fluence me  to  put  one  of  my  mares  to  such  a  horse.  I 
want  no  vicious  colts  in  my  stalls.  None  but  an  amia- 
ble, docile,  kindly-disposed  animal  should  be  selected 
for  service  in  the  stud.  This  rule  is  of  special  impor- 
tance to  the  breeder,  as  it  is  directly  related  to  the 
successful  sale  of  his  colts.     Gentlemen  do  not  wish  to 


108  THE  TERFECT   HORSE. 

buy  an  uneasy,  fretful,  and  fractious  thing.  It  is  uncer- 
tain and  dangerous  business  to  train  and  teach  such  an 
animal.  There  is  too  much  risk  about  it.  Nothing  ad- 
vertises a  family  of  colts  so  badly  as  viciousness,  or 
that  fickleness,  or  irritability  of  temper,  bordering  close 
upon  it.  Seeing  that  this  matter  is  clearly  within  one's 
control,  I  hold  that  it  is  a  high  misdemeanor  in  a 
breeder  to  breed  a  vicious  colt.  He  has  no  right  to 
introduce  a  force  into  the  world  which  man  cannot 
easily  and  safely  manage. 

But,  if  one  has  no  right  to  breed  to  a  vicious  stallion, 
neither  is  it  wise  for  him  to  breed  to  one  when  he  is  in 
an  artificial  state.  I  will  explain  this  more  fully. 
When  life  is  propagated  in  the  animal  kingdom,  the  life 
produced  is  the  product  of  the  union  of  two  lives,  and 
takes  its  character  from  the  character  of  the  parental 
source.  The  foal  is  a  representative  of  the  sire  and 
dam  both,  and  of  the  sire  and  dam,  not  as  they  might 
have  been,  but  as  they  actually  were  at  the  time  of 
its  conception.  Not  alone  the  general  health  of  the 
two  parents  is  transmitted  to  the  offspring,  but  the  par- 
ticular habit  and  mood  of  life  in  which  they  then  were. 
The  nervous  and  temperamental  states  and  conditions 
were  transmitted  also.  Hence  it  comes  about,  that  as,  in 
the  case  of  human  species,  the  babe  conceived  in  drunk- 
enness is  apt  to  be  idiotic,  and  in  other  respects  imbecile ; 
so  the  foal  conceived  when  the  sire  and  dam,  or  either, 
were  in  an  unnatural,  excited,  feverish  state,  will  come 
into    the  world  sensibly  affected  and  weakened  from 


THE  SIBB.  109 

this  cause.     The  influence  of  the  nervous  state  on  the 
offspring  of  the  human  family  is  well  understood ;   and 
not  alone  of  the  nervous  state,  but  of  the  state  of  the 
blood,  the  condition  of  the  bones  and  muscles:  these 
are  regarded  as  potential  in  their  influence  on  the  life 
destined  to  be  born.     These  things  have  not  been  con- 
sidered by  breeders  of  the  horse  with  the  close  atten- 
tion which  they  deserve ;  but  he  who  has  observed  how 
high  the  organization  of  the  horse  is  will  see  that  these 
influences  must  be  duly  regarded  by  one  who  seeks  to 
breed  the  perfect  horse.     The  law  is,  that  the  state  of 
the  parents  is  the  state  of  the  child.     As  the  dam  and 
sire  are,  so  will  the  foal  be.     Fevered  parents  beget 
fevered  children :  this  is  the  rule.    Now,  horses,  when  in 
training  for  the  turf,  or  engaged  in  actual  contests,  are 
in  a  most  artificial  state:  their  nervous  system,   their 
blood  and  stomach,  are  in  an  unnatural  condition ;    they 
are   strung  up,   excited,   inflamed.      How  true  this  is 
may  be  seen  from  the  fact,  that,  when  they  have  passed 
through  the  grand  preparation,  they  often  get  sick  if 
the  race  for  any  reason  is  deferred.     They,  as  well  as 
their  trainer,  know  that  a  great  occasion  is  to  come  oft' 
in  which  they  are  to  figure ;    and  they  are  uneasy  and 
excited  until  the  great  feat  has  been  done  or  attempted. 
Moreover,  it  should  be  remembered  that  training  and 
track  work  take  stuff"  out  of  a  horse.     The  animal  is  able 
to  do  one  great  deed ;  but  this  ability  has  been  secured 
at  the   expense  of  a  great    constitutional  disturbance. 
The  normal,  healthy  course  of  nature  has  been  inter- 


110  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

rupted,  and  made  subordinate  to  another  consideration. 
Now,  all  this,  continued  season  after  season,  affects  the 
animal  most  injuriously. 

He  may  not  actually  break  down;  but  the  reserve 
force  has  been  drained  away,  and  his  stamina  impaired. 
Now,  let  a  stallion  thus  superficially  in  the  highest 
possible  condition,  but  latently  and  in  fact  in  an 
impaired  condition,  become  a  sire,  and  the  foal  will 
share,  not  the  original  constitutional  characteristics  of 
the  horse,  but  those  artificial  peculiarities  introduced 
by  his  public  career  and  training  therefor.  Hence  it 
comes  about,  that  few  horses  of  either  sex  noted  for 
their  public  performances  have  ever  become  the  parents 
of  horses  good  as  themselves.  Hence  it  happens  that 
the  foals  of  these  horses  not  only  fall  short  of  that 
degree  of  excellence  which  their  parents  had,  but  are 
actually,  and  in  many  cases  fatally,  crippled  in  force,  or 
made  heirs  of  an  evil  inheritance.  Ethan  Allen,  for  in- 
stance, —  a  horse  of  superb  bone-structure,  and  belong- 
ing to  a  family  noted  for  constitutional  vigor,  —  got  a 
great  many  colts  with  feeble  legs :  he  bred  his  high- 
fevered,  artificial  state  into  them.  Many  of  his  colts 
have  been  unpleasantly  nervous  and  excitable ;  to  drive 
which  was  a  task  and  a  risk,  rather  than  a  pleasure.  The 
fact  is,  no  stock-horse  should  ever  be  trained  for  a  race, 
or  gotten  into  abnormal  state  or  condition  of  health  or 
mood.  He  should  be  kept  in  a  healthy,  normal  state, 
quiet,  and  with  all  his  powers  and  faculties  in  even  poise. 
The  severe  training  to  which  colts  intended  to  be  kept 


THE  SIKE.  Ill 

for  the  stud  are  put  between  the  ages  of  two  and  six 
years  is  one  of  the  greatest  obstacles  in  the  way  of 
breeding  sound  and  perfect  horses ;  and  the  habit  of 
stinting  mares  to  such  horses,  on  the  part  of  breeders, 
is  unmitigated  folly.     It  is  the  surest  way  of  commit- 
ting hari-kari  in  breeding  that  I  know  of     My  advice, 
therefore,  is.  Avoid  stallions  kept,  or  that  have  been 
kept,  for  the  purposes  of  the  turf,  and  put  your  mares  to 
stalHons  of  good  pedigree  which  show  good  trotting- 
action, — able  to  trot,  say,  a  mile  in  2.40,  —  of  amia- 
ble disposition,  of  undoubted  constitutional  vigor  and 
soundness,  and  in  a  natural  state.     Such  a  horse  will  — 
if,  in  addition  to  these  other  quaUties,  he  have  the  power 
to  transmit  them  to  his  offspring  —  prove  a  good,  safe, 
reliable  stock-horse.     His  colts  will  be  healthy,  strong, 
and  vigorous.     They  will  have  lasting  legs  and  lungs, 
stomachs  able  to  digest  food  without  the  help  of  ''  con- 
dition  powders,"  and  tempers  fine,   but  reliable  as  a 
Damascus  blade.     Breed  to  such  a  horse,  and  you  will 
have  gone  far,  in  so  doing,  along  the  road  of  success. 

Furthermore,  suffer  this  caution :  Never  breed  to  a 
horse  because  he  has  a  high-sounding,  fashionable  name, 
with  a  corresponding  pedigree  attached.  It  is  as- 
tonishing how  many  Fearnaughts  and  Abdallahs  and 
Morrills  and  Hambletonians  there  are.  Perhaps  the 
last-mentioned  name  is  abused  the  most.  All  over 
New  England  and  the  country,  you  will  find  Hamble- 
tonian  this  and  Hambletonian  that  advertised  to  the 
breeding  pubhc,  that  are  not  worth,  for  stock-purposes, 


112  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

the  bedding  they  stand  on.  Big-headed,  big-legged, 
but-ended  things,  they  point  the  satire  on  human  cre- 
duUty  that  could  be  persuaded  into  breeding  even  a 
third-rate  mare  to  them.  The  fact  is,  the  Hambletonian 
family,  great  and  worthy  of  patronage  as  it  is,  is 
worthy  of  patronage  only  in  the  case  of  its  finest  repre- 
sentatives. If  Dexter  had  not  been  castrated,  he  would 
have  been  about  my  idea  of  a  stock-horse  in  every  thing 
but  his  temper  ;  and  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  that  was 
naturally  excellent :  but  Dexter  is  the  result  of  that 
one  especial  cross  with  a  star-mare  which  Hambletonian 
^^hit"  well  with.  A  son  of  the  old  horse  with  a  star- 
mare,  or  indeed  any  thorough-bred  mare,  for  its  dam,  is, 
generally  speaking,  a  good  horse  :  but  it  is  a  notorious 
fact  that  Old  Hambletonian  (Rysdyk's)  does  not  cross 
well  with  the  average  run  of  mares ;  neither  do  his  sons. 
With  the  exercise  of  proper  discrimination  in  respect  to 
the  dam,  this  family  of  horses  does  well ;  if  not,  not. 
If  this  is  true  as  regards  the  finest  types  of  the  flimily, 
what  must  be  the  chance  in  reference  to  the  coarser 
specimens  ?  I  reply.  No  chance  at  all ;  and  I  look 
upon  it  as  most  unfortunate  for  the  country,  and  sure  to 
result  in  the  disgrace  of  the  family,  —  whose  fame,  prop- 
erly guarded,  migh],  endure  indefinitely,  —  that  so  many 
of  the  third-rate  colts  of  this  horse's  get  are  now  being 
advertised  for  the  stud.  With  a  great  many  people  it 
is  enough  that  a  horse  is  a  son  of  Hambletonian  ;  failing 
to  make  the  distinction,  that  it  is  better  to  breed  to  the 
most   perfect  specimen   of  a   poor  family  than  to  the 


THE  SIRE.  113 

inferior  specimens  of  the  best  families.  These  people 
cannot  be  persuaded  that  a  name  does  not  make  a 
horse.  But  they  will  find  this  out  to  their  cost  after  a 
few  years  of  silly  experimenting  in  a  direction  in  which 
experimenting  has  already  been  conducted  to  a  demon- 
stration. I  would  here  reiterate  the  truism,  that  a  pedi- 
gree does  not  make  a  horse  ;  and  that  a  string  of  noble 
names  is  of  no  account  in  breeding,  unless  a  noble 
animal  stands  at  the  end  of  it.  Look  at  the  horse 
before  you  pay  any  attention  to  his  pedigree.  A  wise 
man  may  have  a  fool  for  a  son ;  and  a  great  horse 
improperly  crossed  will  often  get  a  foal  in  no  sense 
worthy  of  him.  Those  who  expect,  that,  because  a 
stallion  happens  to  be  half-brother  to  Dexter,  he  will 
necessarily  get  colts  that  will  grow  up  to  rival  Dexter, 
represent  in  their  mental  structure  a  most  unhappy 
cross  themselves.  The  rule  is,  that  the  foal  will  re- 
semble the  immediate  parents  ;  the  exception  is,  that 
he  will  resemble  the  remote  ancestor  :  and  those  who 
breed  to  a  poor  specimen  of  a  family,  expecting  that  the 
colts  will  be  like  the  founder  of  the  family,  and  not  like 
the  immediate  sire,  are  breeding  in  the  face  and  eyes 
of  this  prime  maxim.  Select  a  stock-horse  who  is  great 
in  himself  and  his  ancestry,  and  not  noble  only  in  his 
parentage,  and  you  will  be  following  the  rule  which  the 
law  of  nature  and  the  evidence  of  all  observation 
indorse  as  correct  and  imperative.  The  moment  that 
this  law  is  apprehended  and  obeyed  by  the  people,  a 
great  many  stallions  —  great  only  in  the  greatness  of 


114  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

their  sires  —  which  are  now  being  offered  as  stock- 
horses  to  the  pubhc  will  go  to  the  string-team  or  to  the 
dogs,  where  they  belong  :  and  it  makes  no  difference 
to  which ;  for  they  are  absolutely  worthless  for  the  pur- 
poses of  the  stud. 

Concerning  the  proper  age  of  service,  authorities 
differ,  and  men  disagree.  Every  one  has  a  right  to  his 
own  views ;  but  I  am  disposed  to  think,  that,  the  ex- 
tremes of  age  and  youth  being  avoided,  no  difference 
exists  in  the  value  of  the  get.  Many  are  strongly 
prejudiced  against  breeding  to  young  stallions  before 
they  have  reached  full  maturity,  and  become  ''  thoroughly 
seasoned,"  as  they  say ;  but  the  facts  show  that  some  of 
the  best  horses  ever  foaled  were  sired  by  mere  colts. 
As  a  matter  of  interest,  and  as  a  case  in  point,  we  give 
below  the  ages  at  which  Hambletonian  got  his  best 
foals :  — 

Alexander's  Abdallah  was  got  when  Hambletonian 
was  two  years  old.  Volunteer  when  he  was  four, 
Edward  Everett  when  he  was  five.  Dexter  when  he  was 
eight,  Bruno  when  he  was  eleven,  Sentinel  when  he 
was  twelve.  Jay  Gould  when  he  was  fourteen,  Gazelle 
and  Aberdeen  when  he  was  sixteen,  and  Startle  when 
he  was  seventeen. 

Here  are  horses  sired  all  the  way  from  tivo  years  to 
seventeen ;  and  certainly  none  would  say  that  the  old 
horse  ever  got  a  better  stallion-colt,  or  one  that  has 
reflected,  in  the  main,  more  honor  upon  the  sire,  than 
Alexander's  Abdallah.     Aberdeen  is  a  noble  horse,  but 


THE  SIRE.  115 

no  better  than  Volunteer  :  Jay  Gould  is  remarkable  ;  but 
Edward  Everett  is  equally  noted.  The  dam  of  Ethan 
Allen,  if  my  memory  serves  me,  was  twenty-four  years 
old  when  she  dropped  him ;  and  yet  I  might  mention 
others  as  famous  after  their  kind  as  the  little  bay  stal- 
lion, whose  dams  were  fillies  of  three  or  four  years. 
The  prejudice,  therefore,  against  breeding  mares  to 
young  stallions,  is  not  warranted  by  facts.  No  horse 
can  reach  maturity,  perhaps,  before  he  is  eight  or  ten 
years  of  age  ;  and  many  horses  have  sired  their  grandest 
colts  long  before  they  came  to  that  age.  It  is  also 
known  that  many  of  the  most  talented  men  and  women 
of  the  world  were  the  first  or  last  born  of  their  parents  ; 
and  that  in  no  respect  are  those  born  in  middle  age, 
when  the  physical  and  mental  powers  of  the  parents 
may  be  said  to  be  in  the  state  of  high  development, 
superior  to  the  earlier  or  later  born.  Nor  does  it  seem 
to  injure  in  any  way  the  colt  to  serve  a  reasonable 
number  of  mares,  —  in  his  second  year,  from  five  to  ten  ; 
in  his  third  year,  from  ten  to  twenty  ;  in  his  fourth  year, 
from  twenty  to  thirty :  this  I  hold  to  be  well  within 
the  line  of  safety.  A  colt  well  put  together,  and  fed 
and  exercised  judiciously,  would  not,  in  my  opinion,  be 
injured  by  such  service,  but  rather  improved.  At  this 
time  of  life  he  is  manageable,  and  can  be  educated  to 
cover  the  mare  properly,  and  in  gentleness  of  fervent 
but  controlled  desire,  and  not  in  the  frenzy  of  wild  and 
savage  license.  The  proper  education  of  a  high-bred 
stallion-colt  for  the  purposes  of  the  stud  is  the  duty,  as 


116  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

it  should  be  the  ambition,  of  every  owner.  A  fractious, 
lawless,  violent  horse  is  a  disgrace  to  the  head  groom 
and  the  stable.  A  horse  that  cannot  be  controlled  by  a 
word  is  not  fit  to  serve  a  mare.  The  squealing,  plun- 
ging, savage  sort  are  unfit  for  public  service,  and  should 
be  avoided  by  the  breeder.  In  addition  to  the  fact  that 
they  endanger  the  health  and  life  of  the  mare,  they  also 
impress  her  unfavorably ;  and  these  parental  impressions 
have,  as  I  hold,  much  to  do  with  the  life  and  character 
of  the  foal.  Every  fortunate  birth,  over  which  the  Fates 
smile  propitiously,  is  the  result  of  fervent  but  amiable 
intercourse,  to  which  either  parent  yields  with  gladness, 
and  not  the  result  of  an  insane  and  brutal  act  from 
which  the  female  seeks  to  fly  in  fear  and  terror.  And 
I  hold  it  to  be  a  law  written  in  the  very  nature  of 
things,  that  a  violent,  ungovernable  stallion  is  unfit  for 
the  purposes  of  the  stud.  When  breeders  refuse  to 
stint  their  mares  to  such  brutes,  they  will  disappear,  and 
not  before.  The  owners  of  such  creatures  can  only  be 
reached  through  the  pocket.  Mercenary  considerations 
they  feel  the  force  of,  and  none  others.  Let  these 
violent  stallions  alone,  and  their  owners  will  get  better 
ones,  and  not  before. 

Touching  the  state  of  the  stallion's  health  at  the  time 
of  service,  this  should  be  said :  It  should  be  perfect ; 
and  perfect  health  in  the  horse  kind,  allow  me  to 
remind  the  reader,  is  not  shown  by  fatness.  A  horse  is 
not  a  hog ;  and  that  state  which  types  the  excellence  of 
the  one  does  not  type  it  in  the  other.     Fat  stallions  are 


THE  SIRE.  117 

unfit  stallions  to  breed  to.  A  stock-horse  should,  by 
judicious  exercise  and  dieting,  be  kept  at  just  that 
point  at  which  the  nervous  and  muscular  forces  are  at 
the  flood.  It  is  astonishing  how  much  exercise  a  stock- 
horse  can  take,  and  keep  improving  in  his  nervous  and 
muscular  condition  all  the  while.  From  ten  to  twenty 
miles  a  day  is  not  generally  too  much  work  during  the 
covering  season :  with  this  amount  their  condition  will 
be  superb.  What  a  coat,  what  eyes,  what  limbs,  they 
will  have  !  How  little  like  a  pig,  and  how  much  like  a 
horse,  they  will  look  when  led  from  the  stall !  A  horse 
thus  treated  will  also  be  a  sure  foal-getter.  Half  of  the 
mares  he  served  will  not  *  be  returned  upon  him  the 
next  season.  Indolence  on  the  part  of  the  sire  during 
the  covering  season  is  the  curse  of  American  breeding. 
I  know  stallions  in  New  England  that  are  fat  as  swine, 
and  are  rarely  driven  a  mile,  but  stand  day  after  day  in 
sluggish,  vigor-sapping  idleness.  What  colts  can  you 
expect  from  horses  kept  in  such  a  condition  ? 

I  have  already  given  my  views  as  to  the  degree  of 
influence  derived  from  either  parent;  but  I  may  say 
here,  that  I  would  never  breed  a  mare  to  a  stallion  with 
the  expectation  of  getting  a  trotting-colt,  unless  the 
stallion  could  trot.  The  trotting -action  seems  to  be 
peculiarly  the  gift  of  the  sire,  'provided  that  he  is  not 
weak  in  those  nervous  and  constitutional  forces  which 
enable  him  to  repeat  himself  in  his  offspring.  A  horse 
with  trotting-action,  but  weak  in  vital  force,  will  not  be 
apt  to  transmit  his  way  of  going,  or  any  thing  else  of 


118  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

himself;  but,  other  things  being  equal,  you  may  expect 
that  the  sire  will  give  his  action  to  his  colts.     I  might 
mention  horses  remarkable  for  this,  —  horses  that  mark 
their  colts  so  decidedly  with  their  action,  that  it  alone  is 
sufficient  to  designate  their  parentage.     Such  a  horse,  if 
his  style  of  going  is  good,  is  invaluable  to  the  breeder. 
I  emphasize  "style  of  going,"  because  many  stallions 
that  trot,  and  trot  fast  too,  do  not  trot  loell     Consider- 
able speed  can  and  does  often  co-exist  with  a  faulty 
action ;  and  this  should  be  noted.     A  great  many  stal- 
lions trot  too  wide ;   that  is,  they  have  too  open  a  gait. 
Such  an  action  is  faulty ;  and  the  reason  is  this :   It  is 
necessary,  as  all  admit,  that,  in  speeding,  the  action  of 
the  hind-legs  should  be  wide  enough  to  allow  the  feet 
to  pass  outside  of  the  forward-legs.     This  is  indispensa- 
ble.    But  it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  every  inch 
of  lateral  action  requires  exertion,  costs  effort,  and  ex- 
hausts strength;  and  that  the  horse  should  be  gaited, 
therefore,  so  as  to  "open  up"  no  wider  than  is  abso- 
lutely necessary  in  order  to  get  safely  by  his  fore-legs ; 
for  every  inch  of  side-action  beyond   this  is  unneces- 
sary, and  a  source  of  exhaustion,  when  every  ounce  of 
strength  is  needed  to  bring  him  home  in  time.     What 
we  want  is  motion  in  a  straight  line^  or  as  near  a  straight 
line  as  the  circumstances  of  the  case  will  permit ;  and  he 
is  the  best  horse  who  "spreads"  enough  to  go  clear  and 
free,  and  stops  there.     I  hold,  therefore,  that  these  over- 
wide-gaited  horses  are  of  faulty  action.     They  and  their 
get  show  excellently  on  the  exercise-ground,  or  when  led 


THE  SIRE.  119 

at  our  fairs  up  and  down  before  the  judges'  stand  to  the 
halter;  for  they  literally  make  a  great  spread,  attract  the 
popular  eye,  and  enable  every  fool  to  see  that  they 
have  got  trotting-action.  But  these  colts  that  trot  so 
wide,  that  they  could  trot  with  a  flour-barrel  between 
their  legs,  do  not  trot  so  well,  I  notice,  at  the  end  of  the 
heat  as  they  do  at  the  beginning,  and  are  generally 
found  at  the  wrong  side  of  the  distance-posts  at  the 
conclusion  in  a  well-contested  race  of  the  fourth  or 
fifth  heat. 

I  have  a  stallion  in  mind,  as  I  write,  that  trots  a  three- 
minute  clip  —  so  perfect  is  his  knee-action,  and  quick  is 
his  gather  —  without  "opening  up"  at  all,  but  that  can 
"  open  up  "  enough  to  show  his  heels  to  many  wider- 
gaited  horses,  when  it  is  necessary  to  get  his  nose  to  the 
judges'  wire  quicker  than  30  sec.  And,  what  he  can  do 
the  first  heat,  he  can  keep  on  doing  the  fifth,  sixth,  or 
seventh  heat,  or  all  day,  for  that  matter:  and  the  reason 
is,  because  he  does  not  waste  any  force  by  side-a,ction^  but 
delivers  his  strokes  in  a  straight  line ;  and  every  inch  of 
movement  brings  him  an  inch  nearer  home.  And  this  is 
the  style  of  horse  that  will  invariably  win  when  the  con- 
testants are  many,  the  race  a  close  one,  and  endurance 
every  thing.  Now,  the  colts  of  this  horse  resemble  their 
sire  in  this  their  style  of  going.  When  led  to  the  halter, 
they  do  not  "open  out"  at  all,  or  very  little,  because  the 
groom  cannot  make  the  pace  fast  enough  for  them  to  feel 
the  need  of  effort ;  and  I  doubt  if  many  judges  at  the 
New-England  fairs  would  ever  regard  them  as  worthy  to 


120  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

compete  for  prizes  among  colts  of  the  wide-going,  Morrill 
action.  But  when  these  little  trappy,  quick-stepping  fel- 
lows are  grown  up,  and  happen  to  be  called  Dauntless 
or  Ned  Wallace,  the  backers  of  the  Morrill  and  Tom  Jef- 
ferson stock  find  that  they  have  trotting-action  enough 
to  get  them  round  to  the  wire  about  two  lengths  quicker 
than  it  was  for  their  interest  to  have  them  get  home.  I 
must  confess  to  a  growing  dislike  to  this  excessive  wide 
action  of  the  hind-feet:  it  may  impress  the  crowd,  and 
secure  purchasers  from  that  large  number  of  people  who 
never  reason  upon  any  thing,  but  who  buy  a  horse,  as 
the  drunken  sailor  bought  his  ladder,  "  because  it  was  so 
well  ventilated ;  "  but  to  me  it  argues  weakness  or  faulty 
construction  where  both  are  fatal  to  the  highest  form  of 
success.  While,  therefore,  I  would  breed  to  no  stallion 
who  had  not  a  trotting-gait,  I  should  not  be  especially 
attracted  to  one  noted  for  "  wide  action  "  as  the  phrase 
is ;  and  if  this  width  of  action  is  associated,  as  is  often 
the  case,  with  slowness  of  gather,  —  that  is,  if  his  hind- 
feet  went  very  wide  apart,  and  staid  under  the  sidhj  a 
good  while,  —  I  would  not  breed  to  him  anyway.  This 
tardiness  of  gathering  is  a  bad  feature  in  a  horse :  a  slow- 
gathering  horse  will  never  trot  fast,  no  matter  how  open 
his  gait,  or  how  long  his  stride.  I  have  seen  horses  stride 
a  distance  of  seventeen  feet  when  they  were  not  trotting 
better  than  a  2.50  gait.  These  slow-gathering  horses 
are  generally  long-backed  horses  ;  and  horses  with  long 
backs,  unless  splendidly  developed  over  the  loins,  are 
apt  to  gather  slowly.     The  power  to  bring  their  feet  up 


THE  SIRE.  121 

from  under  the  sulky  with  a  twitch,  and  shoot  them 
ahead  as  the  arrow  is  shot  out  of  a  bow,  is  not  in  them. 
Select  a  stallion  short  in  the  upper  line,  and  long  in  the 
lower  line,  strongly  coupled  over  the  hips,  and  the  dis- 
tance between  the  hip-bones  and  spine-bone  swelling 
with  ridges  and  masses  of  muscle  that  you  can  see  play 
and  work  like  great  pulleys  when  taking  their  exercise, 
and  you  will  get  colts  from  him  that  will  stride  far,  and 
gather  like  lightning.  As  to  the  height  and  size,  I  say 
unhesitatingly,  that  the  perfect  horse  in  these  respects  is 
one  that  stands  fifteen  hands  and  two  inches  high  (sixty- 
two  inches),  and  weighs  ten  hundred  and  fifty  pounds. 
This  is  the  standard  of  perfection ;  an  inch  either  way  in 
height,  or  fifty  pounds  in  weight,  is  allowable  :  but  for 
speed  and  endurance,  for  the  purposes  of  general  driv- 
ing, and  for  the  track,  and,  therefore,  for  the  purposes 
of  breeding,  no  stallion  should  weigh  less  than  a  thou- 
sand, or  more  than  eleven  hundred  pounds;  neither 
should  he  stand  higher  than  sixty-three  inches,  nor 
lower  than  sixty.  It  used  to  be  thought,  that  for  the 
purposes  of  the  track,  and  in  order  to  be  good  weight- 
pullers,  large-sized  horses  were  indispensable ;  but  when 
men  saw  Flora  Temple,  barely  tipping  eight  hundred 
pounds,  pull  the  same  weight  as  the  great  stallion 
George  M.  Patchen,  and  get  her  nose  in  at  the  wire 
a  little  quicker  than  he  could,  heat  after  heat,  they  had 
to  go  back  on  their  favorite  theory.  Theory  and  specu- 
lation are  excellent  in  their  place  and  way ;  but  they 
are  useless  when  put  over  against  the  logic  of  facts; 


122  THE  PERFECT  HORSE. 

and  the  fact  is,  that  the  best  weight-pullers  of  the 
country,  since  the  first  trotting-race  was  made,  have 
been  horses  of  medium  size,  and,  in  many  cases,  even 
under-sized.  Many  illustrations  of  this  I  might  offer  in 
way  of  proof 

Now,  if  horses  of  this  weight  and  size  can  do  all  that 
any  of  the  horse-kind  can  do,  why  should  they  not  be 
regarded  as  the  model  horse ;  that  is,  the  size  and  weight 
with  which  the  Creator  has  associated  the  greatest  speed 
and  endurance?  Nor,  indeed,  is  excessive  weight  a 
proof  of  strength.  Old  Justin  Morgan,  when  weighing 
less  than  nine  hundred  pounds,  would  pull  a  log  heavier 
than  any  twelve-hundred-pound  horse  that  could  be 
found  in  the  States  of  Maine  and  Vermont.  He  would 
not  only  pull  a  log  that  these  heavier  horses  could  not 
even  start,  but  pull  it  with  two  heavy  men  sitting 
astride  of  it.  In  view  of  these  facts,  is  not  all  weight 
above  the  standard  suggested  excessive  weight  ?  Does 
it  not  burden  a  horse,  endanger  his  limbs,  imperil  his 
feet,  and  detract  materially  from  his  general  value?  The 
Hambletonian  and  Morrill  stock,  because  of  the  speed 
and  general  excellence  of  their  get,  set  the  fashion,  and 
caused  large-sized  horses  to  be  eagerly  sought  for  and 
demanded,  and  the  Morgan  family  of  horses  to  be  de- 
spised as  undersized.  But  this  was  only  an  accident, 
and  the  fashion  of  an  hour.  After  twenty  years  of  breed- 
ing and  use,  we  know  that  heavy  horses  cannot  stand 
work  on  our  paved  avenues  and  stone-bedded  roads ; 
and  we  also  know  that  they  can  neither  trot  faster,  nor 


THE   SIRE.  VZo 

stay  longer,  than  the  ten-hundred  or  ten-hundred-and- 
fifty  pound  horse.  My  advice,  therefore,  is,  to  breed 
from  a  medium-sized  stallion  ;  and,  if  you  wish  to  enlarge 
the  size  of  your  colts,  get  the  extra  size  by  a  cross  with 
large-sized  mares.  I  do  not  say  that  this  is  the  indis- 
pensable way;  but  it  is  the  better  way,  as  I  judge ;  and 
I  therefore  recommend  it. 

This  matter  of  crossing  naturally  introduces  the  vexed 
question,  "  What  shall  we  cross  with  ?  "  The  matter  of 
blood  —  what  it  symbolizes,  and  where  it  can  be  found 
—  and  of  in-breeding  comes  before  us  naturally  at  this 
point  for  discussion ;  and  we  will  here  group  together 
what  we  have  to  say,  choosing  for  our  general  caption 
the  word 

THOROUGH-BRED. 

All  over  the  country,  from  Maine  to  California,  in 
every  State  where  horses  are  bred,  this  word  is  being 
spoken  in  hot  debate.  It  has  been  the  cause  of  more 
verbal  strife  among  breeders  and  horsemen  than  any 
other  word  in  the  dictionary ;  and  still  the  fight  goes 
on,  and  with  varying  fortune.  The  advocates  and  oppo- 
nents of  breeding  trotting-mares  to  thorough-bred  stal- 
lions, and  vice  versd^  have  their  alternate  successes. 
One  will  say,  "Nothing  but  a  thorough-bred  mare  is 
fit  to  breed  to  a  good  stallion."  Another  will  deny  that 
a  trotter  can  be  got  from  such  a  cross.  One  will 
declare,  "We  must  warm  up  our  cold-blooded  mares 
by  breeding  to  thorough-bred  horses,  in  order  to  give 
game^   and   power   to   stay  a   distance,   to   the   colts." 


124  THE  PERFECT  HOESE. 

Another  will  point  you  to  a  dozen  horses  that  have 
drifted  up  to  the  cities  from  the  barn-yards  of  Maine, 
or  been  bought  out  of  string- teams,  —  as  Dutchman  the 
Wonderful  was,  —  about  whose  pedigree  nothing  was 
known,  and  of  some  of  which  nothing  is  known  up  to 
this  day,  that  were  able  to  trot  fast,  and  trot  all  day, 
and  say,  "If  that  is  low  blood,  then  low  blood  is  good 
enough  for  me.'' 

Then  there  is  another  class,  who  are  neither  ignorant 
nor  prejudiced,  who  doubt  the  expediency  of  breeding 
to  running-stock  at  all,  on  the  ground  that  the  running- 
gait  is  so  opposite  to  the  trotting-gait,  and  at  the  same 
time  so  strong  and  true  to  itself,  that  it  cannot  be  over- 
come in  the  cross,  but  will  remain  dominant  in  the  foal ; 
and  that  the  breeder  will  find,  that,  in  breeding  in  the 
running-gait,  he  has  bred  out  the  trotting-action. 

To  this  view  I  give  assent ;  and  my  opinion  is  based 
both  upon  actual  trial  in  my  own  stables,  and  upon 
observation  of  many  other  stables.  I  hold  that  a 
thorough-bred  mare  of  running-action  will  very  rarely 
produce  a  foal  of  trotting-action  when  bred  to  a  trotting- 
stallion,  or  vice  versa.  I  hold  that  two  styles  of  going, 
so  unlike,  cannot  harmonize.  Like  two  hostile  cur- 
rents, they  fight  each  other,  and  come  to  a  stand-still. 
The  colt  is  neither  a  trotter  nor  a  runner.  He  is  an 
excellent,  stylish  roadster  and  saddle-horse;  and  that  is 
all.  He  is  a  good  horse  for  many  purposes,  but  not 
such  a  horse  as  the  breeder  desired  and  expected.  This, 
I  say,  is  my  opinion.  I  thrust  it  offensively  upon  no 
one  ;  but  I  hold  to  it. 


THE  SIRE.  125 

The  question  —  and  it  is  one  of  the  utmost  impor- 
tance—  arises,  therefore,  "Where  shall  we  get  blood, 
if  we  cannot  go  to  the  thorough-bred  running-family  ? 
How  can  we  breed  colts  of  sufficient  beauty,  courage, 
and  endurance  to  meet  the  demands  of  the  purchasing 
public  and  the  turf,  if  we  cannot  go  to  the  thorough- 
bred for  our  crosses  ?  for  it  is  admitted  on  all  sides  that 
hlood  telW 

In  response  to  this  interrogation  I  reply.  That  we 
must  go  to  tliorougli-hreds  to  find  what  we  need ;  but  we 
must  go  to  the  thorough-bred  trotting^  and  not  to  the 
thorough-bred  running  horse. 

And  now  I  would  ask  the  reader's  closest  attention 
to  what  I  am  to  say ;  because  I  deem  it  of  prime  impor- 
tance to  the  breeder,  and  likely  to  be  attacked  by 
many. 

The  word  "thorough-bred"  has  an  artificial  and  a 
natural,  a  technical  and  a  practical,  significance.  Techni- 
cally considered,  the  thorough-bred  horse  is  one  whose 
pedigree  can  be  traced  back  through  imported  stock  to 
the  English  stud-books,  and  through  these  to  the  East, 
whence  the  modern  English  thorough-bred  horse  ances- 
trally came.  This  is  what  I  call  the  artificial  or  technical 
significance  of  the  word  "  thorough-bred."  It  does  not 
prove  that  a  horse  is  a  good  animal ;  for  many,  both  in 
this  country  and  in  England,  whose  pedigree  can  be 
traced  back  to  an  Arabian  source,  are  comparatively  of 
little  value.  In  England  you  can  find  hundreds  of 
"  weedy "  colts,  with   neither   lungs   nor   legs  able   to 


126  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

stand  the  necessary  work  to  fit  them  for  a  race,  or, 
indeed,  of  any  considerable  value  any  way;  and  the 
same  is  true  with  us.  To  buy  a  horse  simply  because 
he  has  a  long  and  noble  pedigree  is  to  buy  as  a  fool 
buyeth.  And  especially  does  this  hold  true  in  the  case 
of  breeding ;  for  which  purpose,  none  but  the  best  speci- 
mens of  the  flimily  you  desire  to  cross  with  should  be 
purchased.  A  poor  horse  is  a  poor  horse  the  world 
over  in  all  families,  and  in  spite  of  pedigree.  A  good 
animal  with  a  good  pedigree  is  what  the  breeder 
needs ;  and  this  rule  should  be  closely  adhered  to.  To 
vary  from  this  principle  is  to  risk  all. 

Beyond  this  technical  sense,  the  word  "  thorough-bred" 
has  another  and  a  practical  significance,  which  I  will 
now  explain.  In  the  practical  sense,  the  word  stands 
for  and  symbolizes  certain  indispensable  qualities  which 
give  value  to  the  animal,  and  decide  his  rank  and  place 
in  the  grade  to  which  he  belongs.  Among  these  may 
be  mentioned  beauty  of  form,  toughness  of  bone  and 
muscular  structure,  vivacity  and  docility  of  tempera- 
ment, intelligence,  and  above  all,  perhaps,  in  value,  the 
poiuer  of  endurance^  and  the  desire  to  do ;  what  horse- 
men express  by  the  word  "game."  All  pedigrees  are 
worthless  save  as  they  indicate  and  warrant  that  the 
horse  with  the  noble  ancestry  is  noble  himself  It  is  a 
help  to  the  judgment,  as  to  the  value  of  a  colt,  to  know 
that  its  dam  is  a  Star  mare;  because  a  Star  mare  is  a 
daughter  of  American  Star;  and  American  Star  was 
sired  by  Henry,  who  ran  against  Eclipse  in  the  famous 


THE  SIKE.  127 

match  between  the  North  and  South.  To  a  breeder 
such  a  pedigree  is  of  the  utmost  value,  because  it  is  a 
guaranty  that  the  colt  out  of  such  a  mare  will  have,  to 
some  extent  at  least,  the  noble  qualities  which  made  his 
ancestors  famous.  Now,  then,  the  question  comes  back 
to  us,  "What  makes  a  thorough-bred?  "  And  I  say,  that, 
for  all  practical  purposes,  a  horse  which  has  a  certain 
perfection  of  form,  a  certain  degree  of  intelligence,  the 
power  to  do  great  deeds  when  called  upon,  together 
with  the  high  courage  to  attempt  and  to  actually 
perform  them,  is  a  thorough-bred  horse.  That  is 
my  answer  to  the  question ;  and  I  think  that  it  will 
recommend  itself  to  the  common  sense  of  the  reader. 
Observe,  then,  what  are  the  facts  of  the  case  as 
connected  with  the  trotting-horse.  The  facts  are 
these :  that,  beginning  with  Dutchman,  and  coming 
down  through  Lady  Suffolk,  Flora  Temple,  George 
M.  Patchen,  Ethan  Allen,  Dexter,  and  Goldsmith's 
Maid,  we  have  had  for  the  last  fifty  years  in  this 
country  a  race  of  horses  of  trotting-action  of  as  fine  a 
spirit,  and  as  great  powers  of  endurance,  as  any  that 
were  ever  bred.  In  perfection  of  structure,  in  the 
symmetrical  adjustment  of  all  the  parts,  in  intelligence, 
—  that  surest  proof  and  crown  of  good  breeding,  —  in 
dauntless  resolution  that  stopped  not  short  of  death 
itself  in  the  hour  of  supreme  performance,  these  horses, 
and  countless  others  like  to  them,  were,  I  claim,  second 
to  none  that  ever  delighted  the  eye  and  made  proud 
the  heart  of  man.      I  hold  that  it  is  unjust  to  these 


128  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

noble  horses  to  call  them  of  vulgar  or  basely-tainted 
blood.  They  were  kings  and  queens  in  that  order  of 
life  to  which  they  belonged,  and  proved  their  royal 
qualities  on  many  a  contested  field  when  the  lookers-on 
stood  breathless.  I  object,  both  on  the  ground  of  senti- 
ment and  proper  classification,  to  such  a  definition  of 
thorough-bred,  that,  in  order  to  be  just  to  the  one  class 
of  horses,  one  must  be  unjust  to  the  other.  Where 
they  are  equal  in  performance,  they  should  be  equal  in 
honor.  Who  shall  say  that  Old  Topgallant,  when  he 
went  against  Whalebone  four-mile  heats,  and  trotted 
them  in  11.16,  11.06,  11.17,  and  12.15, —that  is, 
making  his  sixteen  miles  in  forty-five  minutes  and  forty- 
four  seconds,  which  is  just  2. 52 J  to  the  mile,  and  that, 
too,  when  he  was  twenty -two  years  of  age,  —  is  not 
worthy  to  stand  beside  Eclipse,  or  Henry,  or  any  other 
horse  that  ever  ran  a  race  ?  There  is  a  right  and  a 
wrong  to  this  thing ;  and,  for  one,  I  assert  that  the 
nomenclature  is  faulty,  and  the  classification  vicious, 
which  covers  Longfellow  and  Harry  Bassett  with  laurel, 
and  leaves  Dexter  and  Goldsmith's  Maid  without  a 
spray.  There  are,  therefore,  as  I  understand  the  merits 
of  the  case,  tivo  great  families  of  thorough-bred  horses, 
instead  of  one^  in  this  country.  The  one  is  the  thorough- 
bred running-horse :  the  other  is  the  thorough-bred 
trotting-horse.  The  time  has  come  for  horsemen  to 
understand  this,  and  no  longer  be  fettered  by  a 
classification  applicable  only  to  a  country  where  the 
trotting-horse  is  not  known  or  honored.     The  English 


THE   SIKE.  129 

stud-books  are  sufficient  for  England,  where  the  running- 
horse  embodies  all  excellence;  but  they  are  entirely 
insufficient  in  this  country,  where  the  trotting-horse 
finds  his  ancestry,  his  birthplace,  and  the  field  of  his 
glory.  There  is,  therefore,  in  this  country,  a  family  of 
horses  possessing  the  very  qualities  for  which  the  Eng- 
lish running-horse  has  so  long  been  noted,  and  in  as 
great  a  degree^  as  the  history  of  its  performances  shows, 
but  which  are  distinguished  from  the  English  thorough- 
bred by  their  style  of  going :  and  to  this  family,  by 
every  law  and  rule  of  justice,  the  same  honorable 
nomenclature  must  be  given;  and  I  now  give  it  the 
same,  and  ask  your  attention  to  what  I  have  to  sug- 
gest touching  the    - 

THOROUGH-BRED     TROTTING-HORSE. 

I  have  alluded  to  the  matter  of  out -crossing  in 
order  to  get  "  blood,"  —  that  is,  those  high  qualities 
which  it  symbolizes, — and  I  have  said  that  it  were 
not  wise  to  go  to  the  running-family  for  the  cross ;  and 
this  I  repeat.  First,  because,  in  doing  this,  you  lose 
the  trotting-action ;  and,  secondly,  because  there  is  no 
need  to  do  it,  since  the  same  perfection  of  courage 
you  seek  can  be  found  in  the  trotting -family  itself. 
Those  of  my  readers  who  know  any  thing  of  Ethan 
Allen,  Taggart's  Abdallah,  Old  Morrill,  or  his  famous 
grandson  Fearnaught,  and  Lambert,  and  the  get  of 
these  horses,  know,  that  for  beauty,  intelligence,  fine- 
ness of  temper,  and  courage  to  "  do  or  die,"  they  are 


130  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

not  excelled  by  any  stallion  of  the  running  -  family 
living ;  and  I  will  not  except  the  great  Leamington,  or 
his  greater  son  Longfellow.  I  have  passed  from  the 
stall  of  Dexter  to  the  stable  of  Harry  Bassett ;  I  have 
seen  Leamington  and  Longfellow  one  week,  and  Fear- 
naught  and  Taggart's  Abdallah  the  next ;  and  I  solemnly 
aver,  that  neither  in  the  sheen  of  their  glossy  coats,  the 
bright,  courageous  look  of  their  faces,  the  symmetry  of 
proportion,  or  suggestions  of  muscular  power,  did  these 
highest  types  of  the  one  family  excel  these  highest 
types  of  the  other. 

There  is  no  doubt  but  that  originally  we  were  depend- 
ent entirely  upon  the  thorough-bred  running-horse  to 
re-enforce  the  common  breed  of  the  country  with  more 
generous  qualities.  It  is  to  imported  Messenger  and 
Diomed  and  Bashaw  especially  that  we  are  indebted  for 
those  excellences  which  now  distinguish  our  trotting- 
horses.  I  would  be  the  first  to  recognize  the  obligation 
that  the  trotting-family  is  under  to  the  running-family ; 
and  there  was  a  time  when  the  breeder  must  needs 
go  to  the  racing-stables  for  those  crosses  from  which 
the  needed  re-enforcement  to  the  weak  common  blood 
of  the  native  breed  might  be  obtained.  But  now, 
owing  to  this  very  outcrossing  with  the  imported  thor- 
ough-bred and  the  success  which  naturally  attended  it, 
the  trotting-family  has  become,  to  all  intents  and  pur- 
poses, thorough-bred  itself,  and  able  to  supply  within 
its  own  membership  every  desirable  quality  and  attri- 
bute.    In  localities  where  this  transmission  of  thorough 


THE   SIRE.  131 

blood  has  not  occurred,  and  only  vulgar  mares  can  be 
obtained,  I  do  not  hesitate  to  advise  the  importation  of 
mares  from  running-families  for  dams.  This  plan  will 
improve  the  stock  immeasurably ;  and,  after  two  or  three 
generations  of  judicious  crossing,  the  trotting-gait  will 
appear  in  the  colts,  and  the  breeder  will  thus  ultimately 
reap  his  reward.  But,  where  well-bred  trotting-marcs 
can  be  found,  give  these  the  preference  over  mares  of 
runmng-Siction  alone,  if  your  object  is  to  breed  trotters. 
Some  breeders,  I  know,  are  possessed  with  the  idea  that 
one  must  resort  to  the  thorough-bred  running-family  in 
order  to  find  that  symmetrical  structure  and  beautiful 
appearance  which  all  lovers  of  the  horse  delight  to  see. 
With  this  ambition  to  breed  beautiful  horses  I  most 
heartily  sympathize.  No  degree  of  speed  can  atone  in 
my  eye  for  the  lack  of  beauty.  Beauty  and  speed  must 
co-exist,  if  possible,  in  every  colt  bred  in  my  stables. 
Many,  I  know,  are  indifferent  to  this,  and  care  little  how 
a  horse  looks,  if  he  can  only  go.  This  I  hold  to  be 
against  the  course  of  nature,  which  ever  seeks  to  pro- 
duce the  perfect ;  and  no  horse  that  is  ugly  to  the  eye 
can  be  called  perfect.  Away,  then,  I  say,  with  your 
heavy-limbed,  ragged-hipped,  long-haired,  big-eared, 
bucket-headed  horses!  I  wouldn't  drive  one  a  rod  if 
he  would  trot  a  mile  in  a  minute.  I  like  the  exhilara- 
tion of  rapid  movement,  the  excitement  of  the  rush, 
and  the  royal  joy  of  passing ;  but  the  animal  that  gives 
all  this  to  me  must  please  the  eye.  But  those  who 
suppose  that  the  thorough-bred  running-horse  is  neces- 


132  THE  PERFECT  HORSE. 

sarilj  beautiful  to  the  eye  are  greatly  mistaken.     Im- 
ported Messenger  was  a  large,  ungainly -looking  horse; 
Mambrino,  his  son,  was  badly  string-halted;  Abdallah,  his 
grandson,  was  a  large,  angular-looking  creature,  with  big 
head,  scarcely  any  mane,  ragged- hipped,  and  a  rat-tail. 
The  Melbournes  of  England  are  lop-eared.    Many  of  the 
Clays,  descendants  of  imported  Bashaw,  are  large-headed, 
coarse-looking  horses.     I  have  seen  thirty  brood-mares, 
whose  blood  had  flowed  down  to  them  through  twenty 
generations,  absolutely  untainted ;  and  among  them  all 
there  was   neither  a   head,   neck,  coat,  or  form,  more 
beautiful  than  I  can  find  in  a  dozen  daughters  of  the  old 
Green-Mountain  horse  in  Vermont.     So  far  as  beauty 
goes,    Gilford   Morgan   was,   perhaps,    the   handsomest 
horse  ever  seen  on  a  parade-ground  in  America.     Coat, 
eye,  ear,  form,  and  style,  all  that  man  might  long  to  see 
in  a  horse,  could  be  seen  in  him.     One  of  his  grand- 
sons, Taggart's  Abdallah,  is  the  most  beautiful  horse  I 
have  ever  seen,  either  of  the  trotting  or  racing  families. 
Many  of  the  descendants  of  the  Old  Morrill  horse,  whose 
dams  were* Morgan  mares,  and  the  sons  and  daughters 
of  Vermont  Black  Hawk,  were  so  beautiful,  as  to  leave 
little,  if  any  thing,  to  be  desired.     I  do  not  think,  there- 
fore, that  the  breeder  need  to  go  outside  of  the  trotting- 
family  to  find  the  highest  type  of  equine  beauty. 

In  another  portion  of  this  work  I  have  given  my 
views  of  the  Morgan  stock  at  length ;  and  will  only  say 
at  this  point,  that  no  better  cross  can  be  made,  by  a 
breeder  who  would  breed  handsome  horses,  than  this 


THE   SIRE.  13^ 

half-cross  with  the  Morgan  blood.  This  essentially  is 
the  cross  that  produced  Ethan  Allen,  Fearnaught, 
Taggart's  Abdallah,  and  many  other  stallions,  whose 
symmetry  of  proportion,  beauty  of  color,  and  no- 
bility of  carriage,  would  have  made  them  celebrated, 
even  if  they  had  not  been  speedy.  There  are  some 
daughters  of  the  old  Green-Mountain  horse  in  Vermont 
yet,  whose  heads  are  worthy  the  pencil  and  brush  of  a 
Bonheur.  A  Hambletonian  stallion,  if  he  be  a  good 
specimen  of  his  family,  put  to  such  a  mare,  would  be 
likely  to  get  a  colt  that  would  look  about  right  when 
exhibited  to  the  halter,  or  when  flying  down  the  home- 
stretch. 

I  have  now  given  my  views  in  all  frankness  touching 
this  somewhat  vexed  question  of  ''blood."  It  is  prob- 
able that  many,  to  whose  judgment  in  any  question 
relating  to  what  is  wise  or  unwise  in  breeding  grave 
attention  should  be  given,  will  not  agree  with  me : 
such  entertain  the  conviction  that  we  must  still  rely 
on  thorough-bred  running-stock  for  assistance  in  our 
effort  to  produce  trotting-horses  that  shall  have  the  re- 
quisite stamina  and  courage  to  stand  the  work  required 
to  fit  them  for  the  supreme  effort,  and  the  resolution  on 
the  day  of  the  race  to  do  the  deed  demanded  of  them. 
But,  for  one,  I  am  persuaded  that  this  opinion  cannot  be 
maintained  in  the  face  of  the  facts  in  the  case.  The 
record  of  every  year  is  clearly  proving  that  colts  bred 
from  trotting-stock  on  both  sides,  unassisted  by  any 
cross  with  the  thorough-bred  running-stock,  are  abun- 


134  THE  PERFECT    HORSE. 

dantly  able  to  do  all  that  horses  may  be  expected  to 
do,  and  do  it  right  along  continually.  If  this  be  true, 
the  subject  is  beyond  the  need  of  argument,  and  outside 
the  boundary  of  speculation  ;  and  breeders  of  trotting- 
horses  may  henceforth  regard  it  as  a  law  in  breeding, 
that  trotters  can  be  safely  inbred  to  trotters,  as  run- 
ning-horses are  inbred  to  running-horses.  And  to  this 
maxim  my  judgment  gives  a  full,  unhesitating  assent. 

In  reference  to  this  matter  of  inbreeding,  I  am  in- 
clined to  think  that  not  only  should  it  be  done  between 
members  of  the  trotting-family,  but  that  it  may  also  be 
done  with  profit  in  the  case  of  blood  relations. '  I  know 
that  many  have  strong  prejudices  against  this,  and  that 
physiologists  claim,  that,  in  the  human  family,  it  is  at- 
tended with  grave  and  lamentable  results ;  but,  to  my 
mind,  the  case  does  not  seem  to  be  made  out.  In 
the  first  place,  it  should  be  remembered  that  mar- 
riage in  the  human  family  cannot  be  regulated  as  in  the 
case  of  animals.  You  cannot  elect  and  discard  at  ivill. 
Other  than  scientific  principles  prevail  to  bring  about 
the  union.  Hence  it  comes  about  that  faults  and  weak- 
nesses, both  as  to  the  mind  and  body,  are  increased, 
instead  of  decreased ;  and  the  child  suffers  in  a  double 
measure  from  the  infirmity  of  either  parent,  because 
he  represents  the  infirmity  multiplied  by  two.  But, 
in  the  case  of  animals,  the  election  of  partners  for  the 
union  can  be  arbitrary,  and  so  imperfections  avoided, 
and  excellences  greatly  and  quickly  increased.  The 
cases  are  so  unlike,  you  perceive,  that  it  is  not  fair  to 


THE  SIRE.  135 

reason  from  the  one  to  the  other.  But,  in  addition  to 
this,  certain  facts  exist  of  a  character  to  cause  one,  at 
least,  to  suspend  his  judgment.  The  world  began  with 
a  single  pair ;  and,  in  the  human  family,  inbreeding,  and 
that,  too,  of  the  closest  kind,  must  have  been  the  rule. 
Who  can  doubt  but  that  the  perfect  produced  the  per- 
fect? 

The  Jews  were  forbidden  to  marry  with  foreign 
nations ;  and  in  the  earlier  portions  of  their  history, 
when  under  the  government  of  the  patriarchs,  and 
comparatively  few  in  numbers,  it  is  fair  to  suppose  that 
intermarriage  must  often  have  been  between  blood 
relations.  But  the  Jews,  instead  of  losing  stamina 
and  constitutional  vitality,  have  held  their  own  in 
numbers  and  mental  character,  while  a  thousand  nations 
have  perished.  Europe  also  furnishes  us  with  further 
data.  There,  by  reason  of  the  law  of  primogeniture 
being  enforced  in  order  to  retain  their  great  ancestral 
estates  intact,  marriages  between  first-cousins  have  often 
been  made  a  necessity.  I  might  mention  noble  houses, 
whose  ancestral  records  run  back  beyond  the  Norman 
invasion,  whose  children  have  furnished  England  with 
her  orators;  statesmen,  and  poets,  and  whose  female  mem- 
bers have  been  among  the  most  beautiful,  vivacious,  and 
long-lived  of  the  land,  in  which,  nevertheless,  for  state 
and  property  considerations,  marriage  between  cousins 
has  been  the  rule  rather  than  the  exception.  I  might 
adduce  other  illustrations  equally  to  the  point ;  but  those 
already  given  are  enough  to  make  the  thoughtful  pause 


136  THE  PERFECT  HORSE. 

before  they  pronounce  judgment  touching  the  extent 
and  limitation  of  those  laws  which  the  all- wise  Creator 
ordained  to  govern  the  propagation  of  the  species. 
That  a  limit  exists  somewhere  is  undoubtedly  true  ;  but, 
just  where  the  point  at  Avhich  we  should  stop  is  located, 
it  is  not  so  easy  to  affirm.  Now,  in  respect  to  the  horse, 
history,  so  far  as  it  goes,  seems  to  be  in  favor  of  in- 
breeding. Indeed,  the  evidence  is  unmistakable,  and 
all  tending  in  one  direction.  To  begin  with  this 
country,  and  in  the  trotting-family :  the  old  Abdallah 
was  the  result  of  a  cross  between  a  half  brother  and 
sister;  Mambrino  and  Amazonia,  his  sire  and  dam, 
being  both  gotten  by  imported  Messenger.  The  old 
Hambletonian  was  by  Messenger,  out  of  a  daughter 
of  Messenger. 

One-Eye,  the  dam  of  Rysdyk's  Hambletonian's  dam, 
was  again  the  result  of  a  cross  between  a  son  and 
daughter  of  Messenger.  Then,  again,  the  Charles  Kent 
mare,  whose  dam  was  the  result  of  the  incestuous  union 
between  the  son  and  daughter  of  Messenger,  was  bred 
to  Abdallah,  the  result  of  a  like  incestuous  union  ;  and 
the  result  is  Rysdyk's  Hambletonian.  Observe  this 
order :  A  son  and  daughter  of  Messenger  produce  Ab- 
dallah, —  this  certainly  is  as  close  inbreeding,  almost,  as 
one  can  have,  —  and  the  result  is  the  most  famous  horse 
of  his  family  ;  and  he  gets  a  son,  when  bred  to  his 
cousin,  that  founds  a  family  whose  fame  is  known  the 
world  over.  If  we  should  go  to  the  English  stud- 
books,  a  list  of  any  required  length  might  be  made  out, 


THE   SERE.  137 

all  going  to  show  that  inbreeding,  —  even  to  the  degree 
of  incestuous  union,  —  when  properly  directed  by  the 
breeder,  has  been  and  may  be  the  means  of  producing 
horses  of  a  degree  of  excellence  otherwise  unattaina- 
ble. Observe  the  emphasized  words,  because  the  limi- 
tation they  mark  out  touching  this  matter  is  a  very 
significant  one.  The  rule,  as  I  understand  the  matter, 
should  be  this :  When  inbreeding  closely,  allow  the 
union  to  take  place  only  between  ^e?/ec^  animals.  Never 
forget  that  the  same  law  which  enables  you  not  only  to 
keep  alive,  but  to  increase,  the  average  excellence  of 
their  ancestors  and  themselves,  at  the  same  time  oper- 
ates to  the  perpetuation,  in  an  exaggerated  form,  of  all 
vices  and  faults.  Deficiencies  as  well  as  excellences, 
base  as  truly  as  noble  qualities,  will  have  a  double 
chance  of  becoming  dominant.  If  one  parent  alone  is 
vicious,  then  the  offspring  may  be  good-natured ;  but, 
if  both  parents  be  vicious,  then  will  the  foal  be  sure  to 
be  an  ugly  brute  anyway.  This  is  the  law  which 
makes  all  close  inbreeding  hazardous,  and  impossible  for 
the  average  breeder  to  follow  out.  I  recommend  it, 
therefore,  only  in  those  cases  where  both  of  the  intended 
parents  are  perfect  animals.  Having  such  animals,  I 
should  breed  fearlessly  in  and  in.  Nevertheless,  even 
in  this  case,  I  should  outcross  occasionally,  and  after- 
ward breed  back  again  to  the  original  stock.  By  this 
method,  as  I  conceive,  great  benefit  might  be  derived, 
and  all  peril  shunned. 

Such  are  my  views  concerning  this  much-debated  and 


138  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

vexatious  question,  —  vexatious,  because  no  precise  con- 
clusion can  be  drawn  as  to  it.  The  full  solution  calls 
for  such  a  penetration  into  the  secrets  of  life  and  life- 
begetting  functions  and  causes  as  mortal  may  never  hope 
to  have.  But  this  much  is  beyond  contradiction,  —  that 
beginning  with  Eclipse,  who  was  very  closely  inbred, 
down  to  Hambletonian  of  our  own  times,  many  of  the 
most  noted  winners,  and  getters  of  winners,  have  been 
the  product  of  in-and-in  breeding  so  close  as  to  be 
incestuous ;  and,  while  facts  have  due  weight  in  men's 
estimate  of  what  is  wise  and  unwise  in  action,  this  will 
be  remembered,  and  will  influence  breeders,  in  spite  of 
theory  and  mere  speculation,  no  matter  by  whom  held 
or  advanced.  To  me  it  seems  not  only  safe  within 
certain  limits,  and  advisable  on  general  principles,  to 
breed  in  and  in  when  the  stock  is  perfect,  but  the  only 
way  in  which  the  breeder  can  retain  in  his  stables  the 
characteristic  excellences,  which,  by  years  of  selection 
and  experiment,  perhaps,  he  has  succeeded  in  producing. 


CHAPTER  V. 


THE  DAM. 


I  HAYE  given  at  length  my  views  of  wliat  consti- 
tutes a  good  stock-horse,  and  the  qualities  which  he 
should  possess,  and  what  may  be  his  influence  on  the 
progeny.  I  will  now  take  up  the  subject  of  the  dam's 
influence  upon  the  foal,  and  what  are  the  qualities 
which  should  characterize  her.  Touching  this  subject, 
I  would  say,  to  start  with,  that  the  influence  of  the  dam 
is  much  more  considerable  in  the  majority  of  cases,  in 
shaping  the  character  of  the  future  colt,  than  many 
imagine.  To  me  it  seems  natural  that  it  should  be  so. 
Without  reiterating  what  I  have  already  said  in  a 
previous  section  of  this  work,  I  would  ask  the  reader  to 
observe  how  intimately  the  foal  is  connected  with  the 
dam,  not  only  previous  to  its  birth,  but  for  a  long 
period  afterward.  From  the  very  beginning  of  its  life 
it  is  fed  by  the  mother's  blood,  and  affected  by  her 
moods.  Before  ever  it  has  seen  the  light,  she  has  had 
the  time  and  the  power  to  stamp  it  with  her  vices  or 
her  virtues,  impart  to  it  her  weakness  or  her  strength. 


139 


140  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

Not  only  the  bone-structure,  the  muscular  tissues,  the 
arterial  and  venous  system,  and  the  measure  of  bodily 
growth,    are    decided    by    the   mother's   constitutional 
powers  and  condition,  but  the  very  nerve-structure  and 
brain-force  receive  from  her  tone  and  quality.     The  foal 
may  be  pictured  as  lying  at  her  mercy,  dominated  by 
the  sweet  tyranny  of  nature.     When  thinking  of  these 
things,  I  cease  to  wonder  that  many  of  the  most  famous 
horses,  both  of  the  past  and  present  time,  closely  re- 
semble their  dams.      Dexter  takes  his  look  from  his 
mother,  the  daughter  of  American  Star,  who  was  sired 
by  the  thorough-bred  running-horse,  Henry.     Neither 
in  body,  limbs,  head,  nor  temperament,  does  he  bear  any 
likeness  to  his  sire,  Rysdyk's  Hambletonian.     The  same 
may  be  said  of  Goldsmith's  Maid,  Lady  Thorne,  Major 
Winfield,  and  others  of  almost  equal  celebrity.    They  are 
all  mother's  children,  as  we  should  say  in  respect  to  mem- 
bers of  the  human  family.     Every  breeder  has  observed 
this  peculiarity.     I  have  a  filly  in  my  stables,  sired  by  a 
horse  of  high  breeding  and  great  vitality,   to  whom, 
nevertheless,  she  does  not  bear  the  least  resemblance,  but. 
is  a  facsimile  of  the  dam.     Color,  size,  shape,  style  of 
going,  expression  of  the  countenance,  even  the  way  in 
which  she  eats  her  oats,  or  neighs  before  they  are  given 
her,  —  in  all   these  things  she  is  the  dam  over  again. 
But,  where  the  facts  are  admitted,  an  allusion  to  them  is 
sufficient ;  and  he  who  considers  the  facts  must  wonder 
that  the  dam's  influence  on  the  foal  has  been  and  is  still 
regarded  by  many  breeders  as  comparatively  insignifi- 


THE  DAM.  141 

cant.  To  this  general  law  there  are  certain  exceptions. 
Now  and  then  you  find  a  brood-mare  that  seems  to  have 
no  marhing  power  at  all :  they  give  nothing  to  the  foal 
save  the  food  on  which  he  grows.  From  the  moment 
he  is  born,  he  is  perceived  to  be  the  sire's  own  child. 
The  dam  seems  only  to  have  carried  it ;  been,  as  it 
were,  a  receptacle  for  it;  carried  it  as  something  that 
did  not  belong  to  her,  but  to  another,  and  which  she 
was  to  feed  and  nourish  and  introduce.  Only  this,  and 
nothing  more ;  for  this  literally  was  all  she  did.  She 
left  no  stamp  or  impress  of  herself  upon  it  at  all,  either 
as  to  size,  color,  structure,  or  temperament.  Such 
brood-mares  to  the  breeder  are  simply  invaluable. 
With  them  he  Jcnoius  what  he  shall  get ;  and  that  which 
defies  all  calculation,  and  baffles  all  intelligence,  is  re- 
moved, —  uncertainty.  But  this  is,  as  I  have  said,  the 
exception  :  in  the  average  order  of  nature  it  is  not  so ; 
and  hence  the  character  and  condition  of  the  dam  from 
which  the  foal  is  to  come,  is,  to  the  breeder,  a  matter  of 
gravest  concern.  Several  things  a  brood-mare  should 
be  sure  to  have,  which  we  will  now  enumerate  ;  the 
first  of  which  is  blood.  The  value  of  pedigree  in  this 
connection  can  scarcely  be  over-rated.  We  take  it  for 
granted  that  no  respectable  breeder  would  breed  to  a 
horse  of  unknown  lineage.  That  would  be  queer  breed- 
ing indeed !  The  pedigree  of  the  stallion,  then,  being 
known,  and  the  pedigree  of  the  brood-mare  being  also 
known,  the  breeder  can  forecast,  with  a  reasonable  de- 
gree of  certainty,  the  characteristics  and  qualities  of  the 


142  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

future  colt ;    the  law  being  that  the  foal  will  resemble 
the   parents,   or  some    one  of  the  less  remote  grand- 
parents.    The  reader  perceives  how  practical,  in  this 
connection,  is   the  benefit   derived  from  pedigrees  in 
breeding.     Without  them  the  uncertainty  of  what  the 
get  will  be  is  increased  twenty  per  cent.     I  do  not  say 
I  would  not  buy  a  mare  for  brooding-purposes  whose 
pedigree  was  not  ascertained;  for  I  would:   but  I  do 
say,    that,   with    the  pedigree  well  verified,   I  should 
regard  her  worth  considerably  more  money  for  the  pur- 
pose for  which  I  was  buying  her  than  without  one. 
But  the  purchaser  should  always  remember  that  the 
animal  herself  is  a  better  assistance  to  his  judgment  than 
any  pedigree,  and  that  no  mare  should  be  bought  for 
brooding-purposes  because  of  her  pedigree.     The  horse 
first,  and  the  pedigree  too,  is  the  way  to  have  it  stand 
in  your  mind.     Eemember,  also,  that  pedigrees  can  be 
created.     It  is  astonishing  how  long  a  pedigree  can  be 
got  up  at  a  moment's  notice.    Only  let  the  horse-jockey 
ascertain  what  blood  you  prefer,  and  he  will  lead  you 
out  a  daughter  of  that  family  in  a  minute !     I  do  not 
wish  to  suggest  that  horse-dealers  are  less  honest  than 
dealers  in  other  commodities;  for  men  of  peculiar  moral 
idiosyncrasies  find  a  playful  exercise  of  their  powers  in 
commercial  transactions :  but  I  do  say  that  I  have  met 
men  —  dealers  in  horses  —  who  did  not  seem  to  have  a 
full  realizing  sense  of  the  apostolic  injunction,  "  Lie  not 
at  all,"   especially  in  this  matter  of   pedigrees,   about 
which  more  lapses  of  memory  probably  occur  than  any 


THE  DAM.  143 

other  subject  within  the  scope  of  human  recollection. 
It  will  do  Avell  for  the  tyro  to  bear  it  in  mind,  lest  he 
pay  too  high  for  both  horse  and  pedigree. 

Touching  the  frame  of  the  brood-mare,  I  need  give 
no  instruction  beyond  what  is  contained  in  the  first 
ninety-five  pages  of  this  work,  wherein  I  describe  the 
structure  of  the  perfect  horse.  Let  her  be  in  every 
respect  good  as  the  best,  —  that  is,  as  near  perfection  as 
you  can  find,  or  your  purse  command,  —  and  you  will  not 
go  amiss  in  your  selection.  But  one  thing  should  be 
mentioned,  because,  concerning  it,  men  differ,  and,  as  I 
think,  some  err.  I  refer  to  the  size  of  the  brood-mare. 
Many  say  that  the  breeder  should  select  a  large  mare  j 
and  perhaps,  as  a  general  thing,  where  you  wish  to 
breed  colts  of  greater  size  than  the  parents,  it  is  better 
to  have  the  mare  larger  than  the  horse.  On  this  plan 
you  escape  risk  in  the  act  of  foaling ;  for  small  mares 
bred  to  large  stallions  are  sometimes  unable  to  deliver 
the  foal  without  great  effort,  and  sometimes  not  at  all. 
To  avoid  this  risk,  it  is  wise  to  have  the  dam  larger  than 
the  sire  when  you  wish  to  breed  up  in  size ;  but,  be- 
yond this,  I  think  the  size  immaterial.  "  A  large,  roomy 
mare "  is  a  favorite  phrase  with  many  breeders ;  but 
I  could  never  see  what  mere  bulk  had  to  do  with 
value,  unless  you  are  breeding  for  the  cart.  Quantity 
does  not  dictate  quality.  The  children  of  large-sized 
parents  are  no  more  gifted  than  those  whose  father 
and  mother  weigh  less.  The  amount  of  flesh  does  not 
decide  the  character  of  spiritual  essences,  and  of  those 


144  THE  PERFECT    HORSE. 

subtle  forces  which  make  life  virile;  and,  for  one,  I 
never  allow  the  matter  of  size  to  affect  my  judgment 
in  the  least,  as  I  hold  that  it  cannot  affect  the  result.  I 
would  not  breed  a  mare  that  weighed  less  than  nine 
hundred,  or  one  that  weighed  more  than  eleven  hundred 
pounds.  From  nine  hundred  and  fifty  to  a  thousand  and 
fifty  is  what  I  regard  as  the  best  weight.  Nor  does  the 
shape  affect  me  much,  provided  that  it  be  such  as  makes 
her  good  for  service.  The  old  breeders  thought  —  and 
many  breeders  think  to-day  —  that  a  drooping  rump  is 
the  best  form  for  a  brood-mare.  They  argued,  from  such  a 
formation  of  the  structure,  an  easy  delivery  of  the  foal ; 
whereas  they  conceived  that  a  mare  with  a  flat  or 
straight  rump  formation  could  not  deliver  the  foal 
easily.  But  my  experience  and  observation  disprove 
this.  The  mare  that  delivers  the  foal  more  easily  than 
any  other  in  my  stables  is  one  of  nine  hundred  and 
thirty  pounds'  weight,  with  a  slim  round  barrel  rather 
"picked  up,"  narrow  between  the  hips,  and  her  back- 
bone running  out  nearly  straight  to  the  root  of  the  tail ; 
and  yet  her  colts  are  invariably  strong,  and  she  herself 
so  little  exercised  in  the  delivery,  that  her  pulse  is  never 
feverish,  her  appetite  not  in  the  least  disturbed,  nor  her 
digestion  affected.  We  have  never  even  given  her  a 
warm  mash ;  and  she  has  brought  three  large-sized  colts 
into  the  world.  Other  instances  by  the  dozen  I  might 
give,  if  it  were  necessary.  I  pay  no  attention,  therefore, 
to  the  talk  about  *' large,  roomy  mares  for  breeders," 
but  hold  that  size  alone  neither  improves  the  foal,  nor 


THE  DAM.  146 

insures  greater  safety  to  the  dam  when  bringing  it 
forth.  It  is  quality,  not  quantity,  we  need  in  our  brood- 
mares. The  texture  of  the  bones,  and  the  way  in  which 
they  are  adjusted,  and  not  the  size  of  them;  the  charac- 
ter of  the  temperament,  and  not  the  fleshy  bulk,  —  are 
what  give  value  to  the  dam,  and,  through  her,  to  the 
foal. 

This  matter  of  temperament  is  of  the  utmost  impor- 
tance ;  and  I  refer  the  reader  to  what  was  said  under 
that  head  earlier  in  the  volume.  Here  I  need  not  ex- 
pand the  subject,  save  that  the  lymphatic,  sluggish  tem- 
perament is  to  be  avoided.  Never  select  a  low,  base- 
spirited  mare  to  breed  from.  Touching  the  temper,  be 
particular:  under  no  consideration  ever  breed  from  a 
vicious  mare.  You  have  no  right  to  do  it ;  and  it  will 
not  pay  to  do  it.  It  is  the  chief  glory  of  the  American 
horse,  that  he  is  the  most  enduring  and  the  most  amia- 
ble of  his  kind  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  the  Orient  ex- 
cepted. Next  to  the  Arabian  in  docility  and  intelli- 
gence, in  love  for  man,  and  general  hardihood,  stands 
the  American.  The  English  thorough-bred  is  a  devil ; 
the  Spanish  and  Italian  horses  are  brutes ;  the  French 
racer  is  to  be  admired  at  a  distance :  but  the  American 
horse  is  kind  and  gentle ;  and,  in  the  gloss  and  bloom  of 
grooming  and  virility,  the  American  stallion  can  be 
petted  by  women,  and  fondled  by  children.  I  confess 
that  I  am  very  proud  of  this.  It  argues  intelligence  and 
humanity  among  the  people,  and  noble  qualities  on  the 
part  of  our  horses.     It  should  be  the  great  ambition  of 

10 


1^46  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

the  breeder  and  groom  to  keep  this  just  as  it  is.  Now, 
the  dam,  beyond  doubt,  has  immeasurably  more  to  do 
with  the  temper  of  the  foal  than  the  sire.  I  have  inva- 
riably observed  that  a  timid  or  vicious  dam  would 
stamp  these  pecuharities  upon  her  foal.  If  she  leered, 
and  was  ugly,  the  colt  would  do  just  as  the  mother  did ; 
and  who  can  endure  a  leering,  biting,  kicking  colt  in 
his  stables  ?  Never  breed  from  an  ugly-tempered  mare : 
for  her  colts  will  surely  be  like  her ;  only,  in  seven  cases 
out  of  ten,  worse.  Depravity  gets  an  earlier  develop- 
ment in  the  child  than  it  had  in  the  parent.  Lastly, 
under  this  head,  see  to  it  that  the  mare  selected  for  the 
stud  be  in  perfect  health. 

Feel  that  there  is  no  exception  to  this;  for  every 
trace  of  disease  in  the  blood  of  the  dam  will,  from 
necessity,  be  imparted  to  the  foal.  The  embryo  will, 
from  the  very  beginning,  be  tainted  with  disease.  AH 
impurities  lurking  in  the  parent's  system  will  settle  in  it. 
So  true  is  this,  that  unhealthiness  is  often  bred  out  of 
the  dam  into  the  foal.  The  colt  is  worthless ;  but  the 
mare  is  cured.  The  disease  left  the  mother,  and  entered 
into  the  offspring,  as  is  the  case,  often,  in  the  human  spe- 
cies. See  to  it  that  the  mare  is  in  perfect  health  when 
the  horse  has  connection  with  her ;  and,  being  healthy, 
then  Iceep  her  so.  See  to  it  that  she  has  dry,  clean  bed- 
ding, and  a  good  stall.  Do  not  over-feed,  lest  she  accu- 
mulate fat.  Idleness  is  bad.  Give  her  due  measure  of 
exercise.  More  brood-mares  are  hurt  by  standing  still 
than    by    over-work.     My    brood-marcs   do    moderate 


THE  DAM.  .147 

work,  in  the  team  and  on  the  road,  from  the  time  they 
are  stinted  to  the  horse  until  within  a  month  or  six 
weeks  of  foahng.  This  keeps  them  healthy  and  strong, 
and  prevents  them  from  laying  on  fat.  A  mare  should 
be  kept  in  an  active,  muscular  condition  during  preg- 
nancy. The  question  is  asked,  whether  it  is  wise  to 
speed  a  brood-mare  when  in  foal.  I  hold  it  is,  provided 
it  be  done  with  caution.  An  occasional  spurt  of  fifty 
rods  or  so  does  them  good :  it  keeps  their  mood  right ; 
that  is,  vivacious,  sprightly,  and  full  of  healthy  anima- 
tion. This  mood  they  impart  to  the  foal.  The  mater- 
nal disposition  and  spirit  are  impressed  upon  it ;  for  the 
mental  state  of  the  dam  does  have,  beyond  doubt,  a  vast 
influence  upon  the  nervous  organization  of  the  foal.  As 
the  time  of  foaling  approaches,  let  the  mare  rest.  Exer- 
cise her  only  to  the  halter,  if  at  all.  Remove  her  from 
the  narrow  stall  to  the  "  foaling-room."  This  should  be 
at  least  twelve  by  fifteen  feet  in  size.  The  floor  should 
be  perfectly  level, — this  is  essential, — in  which  she 
should  have  her  liberty.  Give  her  plenty  of  clean,  dry 
bedding.  If  she  is  a  gross  feeder,  and  is  inclined  to  stuff 
herself  with  it,  put  on  a  muzzle :  an  ordinary  wire  ox- 
muzzle  will  answer.  As  the  day  approaches  on  which 
the  long-anticipated  event  is  to  occur,  do  not  feed  very 
high  :  especially  reduce  the  amount  of  hay  she  is  accus- 
tomed to  have  by  one-half  Feed  with  dry  food,  lest 
milk  be  produced  too  fast.  If  this  be  the  case,  and  her 
bag  cakes,  wash  it  in  cold  water  in  which  a  quart  of 
Indian  meal  has  been  soaked.     This  wash  will  reduce 


148  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

the   fever.      If  necessary,    milk   away   a   considerable 
amount;    but    do  not  milk  her  upon  the  ground,  but 
into  a  pan  or  basin.     Some  mares  make  milk  too  soon 
and  too  fast,  but  not  ordinarily.     The  rule  is,  that  the 
foal  will  be  delivered  within  twenty-four  hours  from  the 
time  when  milk,  or  a  milky  secretion,  first  shows  itself 
on   the   teats.     For  a  month  previous  to  the  date  of 
foaling,  handle  her  bag  and  teats,  by  which  she  will 
become  famihar  with   your   touch,  and  not  dread  the 
nose  of  the  foal,  as  some  mares,  if  not  thus  educated,  do. 
When  all  is  done  that  you  can  do,  let  her  alone.    Nature 
in  parental  exercises  loves  seclusion,  and  enjoys  silence 
and  secrecy.     You  should  visit  the  stall  from  time  to 
time ;  but  be  very  quiet  in  your  movements,  and  do  not 
hang  round  the  stall  as  some  inquisitive  grooms  will. 
Treated  in  this  discreet  manner,  ninety-nine  mares  out 
of  a  hundred  will  deliver  their  foals  safely.     When  the 
foal  is  born,  help  it  to  its  feet,  and  assist  it  to  its  mother. 
Be  very  gentle  in  your  movements,  and  caress  the  dam. 
Some   mares,  especially   young  ones,  are  unnatural  at 
first,  and  will  not  own  the  little  thing;  but  patience  and 
kindness  on  your  part  will  soon  prevail.      It  is  Avell  to 
give  the  dam  half  a  bucketful  of  warm  gruel,  made 
thin  ;  and,  soon  after  this,  a  warm  bran  or  oatmeal  mash. 
If  it  is  cold,  and  the  foal  shivers,  wrap  it  in  a  warm 
flannel  sheet ;  and,  in  cases  of  emergency,  give  it  a  table- 
spoonful  of  wine,  or  brandy  even  ;  but  if  brandy,  be 
sure  and  dilute  it  well.     In  a  few  days  the  dam  will 
have  recovered  from  whatever  organic  disturbance  she 


THE  DAM.  149 

may  have  undergone,  and  be  well.  Nine  or  fifteen 
days  after  foaling,  she  should  be  stinted  to  the  horse 
again ;  for  then  she  is  quite  sure  to  conceive  again. 

This,  in  brief,  is  the  order  of  procedure  at  this  critical 
and  often  anxious  period  in  the  breeder's  experience. 
The  foal  should  be  presented,  in  the  act  of  delivery, 
head-foremost,  and  resting  on  the  forward-legs  as  a  dog 
lies  often  when  asleep.    .  This  is  the  natural  way ;  and, 
when  so  presented,  have  no  fears.     If  the  head  should 
be  doubled  under,  or  only  one  leg  come  forth,  then 
man's  help  is  needed.     Having  dipped  his  hand  in  warm 
water  or  oil,  the  groom  should  take  hold  of  the  part 
that  is  visible,  and  gently   and  very  sloivly  push  the 
foal  back  until  room  is  made  for  Nature  to  correct  what 
is  in  fault.     If  the  mare  still  labors  in  vain,  and  a  more 
serious  displacement  has  occurred,  send  for  a  veterinary 
surgeon ;  or,  if  no  such  assistance  is  at  hand,  then  do  the 
best  you  can.     Circumstances  alter  cases ;  and  no  gen- 
eral written  directions  will  avail.     But  if  the  mare  is 
healthy,  and  has  been  well  treated,  the  breeder  has  Httle 
to  fear ;  and  the  chances  are  a  hundred  to  one  that  all 
will  go  well,  and  the  foal  be  safely  delivered. 

Now  that  the  foal  is  born  of  known  and  noble  par- 
entage and  shapely,  let  the  breeder  ''rejoice  and  be 
exceeding  glad."  The  most  desirable  form  of  property, 
as  I  conceive,  has  been  added  to  his  estate.  To  his 
care  and  skill  some  man  shall  be  indebted  for  a  most 
useful  servant  and  noble  companion.  By  his  enter- 
prise he  has  put  the  world  under  obligation  to  him,  in 


150  \  THE  PERFECT  HOUSE. 

that  he  has  given  to  it  an  agent  that  it  needed,  and 
which,  without  his  efforts,  it  would  not  have  had. 
He  deserves  the  benediction  of  mankind;  for  he  has 
added  another  unit  to  the  long  column  which  represents 
the  aggregate  happiness  of  the  race.  At  this  point,  the 
question  of  how  the  colt  should  be  fed  —  whether,  during 
the  sucking-period,  from  the  dam's  milk  alone  ;  or  whe- 
ther this  should  be  re-enforced  by  other  sustenance,  such 
as  cow's  milk,  oatmeal-gruel,  cracked  oats,  and  the  Hke ; 
in  short,  what  is  called  by  many  ''the  forcing-system,"  or 
the  reverse  —  comes  up  for  our  consideration.  As  to 
this,  several  things,  often  lost  sight  of,  must  be  taken  into 
account.  In  the  first  place,  it  is  agreed  on  all  sides  that 
the  youngster  should  not  starve :  but  this  he  often  will 
do,  unless  other  food  than  that  which  comes  from  the  dam 
is  given  him ;  because  many  dams  are  such  poor  milkers, 
that  they  do  not  yield  the  foal  nearly  enough  to  supply 
his  evident  wants.  In  such  a  case,  the  breeder  must 
feed  the  young  thing  himself  Cow's  milk  is  good,  when 
properly  warmed  and  sweetened.  Let  it  be  prepared 
half  blood-warm,  and  as  sweet  as  the  foal  will  drink  it. 
Three  weeks  after  birth,  give  some  oatmeal,  or  cracked 
oats  soaked  to  tenderness  in  water,  or,  better  yet,  in 
milk.  Begin  with  a  handful  or  two,  and  increase  as  the 
need  is.  If  the  mare  is  a  very  poor  milker,  the  colt 
may  need  two  quarts  per  day.  The  rule  to  govern  this 
matter  is,  —  keep  the  foal  in  healthy  growth.  As  long 
as  his  stomach  and  bowels  are  in  good  condition, 
and  he  not  gaining  fat  unnaturally,  he  is  doing  well; 


THE  DAM.  151 

and  your  rule  of  feeding  is,  by  that  fact,  approved. 
This,  also,  should  be  considered,  —  that  nothing  is  so 
bad  as  to  underfeed  the  colt ;  and  according  to  my 
ideas  and  observation,  taking  the  land  through,  ten 
colts  suffer  from  want  of  needed  food  to  one  that 
suffers  from  overplus  of  it.  The  fact  is,  nothing  is 
more  erroneous  than  the  opinion  that  prevails  among 
farmers  and  the  smaller  breeders ;  viz.,  that  it  makes 
little  difference  what  a  colt  has  to  eat  the  first  two 
years  of  his  life,  or  Avhether  he  has  much  to  eat  at 
all.  The  truth  is,  that  the  first  two  years  of  his  life 
decide  the  colt's  entire  future.  Then  it  is  that  the 
length  of  his  bones,  the  stomachic  and  intestinal  de- 
velopment, the  quality  of  the  skin  and  coat,  and  the 
constitutional  powers  and  vigor,  are  decided.  Feed 
your  colt  well  the  first  two  years  of  his  life,  and,  com- 
paratively speaking,  you  cannot  spoil  him  afterwards: 
starve  him  during  these  years,  and  you  cannot,  on  the 
other  hand,  ever  make  the  lack  thereby  caused  good. 
New  England  is,  to-day,  full  of  horses  that  have  been 
ruined  in  this  way.  The  moment  you  put  your  eyes 
upon  them,  you  know  that  they  were  starved  in  youth. 
They  are  under-sized  or  ill-proportioned,  bigger  at  one 
end  than  at  the  other,  ungainly  and  weak.  These  are 
the  animals  that  were  compelled  to  "pick  up  their 
living  "  in  the  barn-yard  with  the  cows  and  sheep,  and 
came  out  each  spring  lousy  and  hide-bound.  I  know 
that  a  great  hue  and  cry  has  been  raised  about  "the 
forcing-system,"  and  much  said  against  giving  oats  and 


152  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

corn  to  colts.  This  is  said  to  result  in  faulty  bone- 
texture,  and  premature  breaking-down  of  the  constitu- 
tional powers.  This  is  all  humbug.  I  would  not  feed 
corn  to  a  colt,  because  it  is  too  heating  and  rank,  and 
unfit,  in  the  main,  to  give  to  any  horse  that  is  not  used 
for  heavy  and  slow  work  :  but  oats  are  the  natural  food, 
as  one  might  say,  of  the  horse ;  and  no  colt  will  ever  be, 
hurt  by  being  fed  liberally  on  them.  Colts,  like  grown 
horses,  differ.  One  requires  more  food  than  another,  and 
so  no  exact  rule  in  feeding  can  be  laid  down  as  regards 
quantity  ;  but  the  quantity  can  be  regulated  by  the  con- 
dition of  the  colt,  as  in  the  case  of  older  horses.  Feed 
liberally  the  first  two  years,  and  you  will  never  regret  it. 
For  the  first  month  of  the  foaFs  life,  great  caution 
should  be  exercised  to  protect  him  from  accidents,  espe- 
cially in  taking  his  exercise.  A  foal  in  good  health,  after 
he  is  a  week  old,  is  very  playful,  and  even  violent,  in 
taking  his  exercise  ;  but  his  eyes  are  not  as  yet  strong, 
nor  accurate  of  sight.  Especially  is  he  unable  to  meas- 
ure distances  correctly.  I  have  seen  a  foal,  two  weeks 
old,  run  full  tilt  against  the  side  of  a  barn  in  broad  day- 
light. The  foal  should  be  led,  therefore,  to  a  field  level 
and  smooth ;  and,  while  the  dam  is  held  by  the  groom 
near  the  middle  of  the  field,  he  should  be  allowed  to 
exercise  to  his  heart's  content.  In  a  few  weeks  he 
will  have  got  experience,  and  he  can  run  loose  with  the 
dam  in  the  yard  or  pasture.  The  matter  of  his  educa- 
tion must  now  be  considered. 


CHAPTER   YI. 

HOW  TO   TRAIN  A   COLT. 

"  With  a  glancing  eye  and  curving  mane, 
He  neighs  and  champs  on  the  bridle-rein : 
One  spring,  and  his  saddled  back  I  press ; 
And  ours  is  a  common  happiness. 
'Tis  the  rapture  of  motion  ;  a  hurrying  cloud 
When  the  loosened  winds  are  breathing  loud ; 
A  shaft  from  the  painted  Indian's  bow ; 
A  bird,  —  in  the  pride  of  speed  we  go." 

Upon  the  proper  education  of  the  colt  his  entire  use- 
fulness depends.  Whether  the  young  life  shall  prove  a 
source  of  blessing  or  of  trouble  to  man  will  be  decided 
by  the  manner  in  which  he  is  trained.  The  education 
of  horses  is  a  question,  therefore,  of  supreme  importance 
to  the  public,  in  the  discussion  of  which  every  one  is 
interested.  We  approach  it  with  the  profound  desire 
to  give  such,  and  only  such,  suggestions  as  shall  quicken 
profitable  thought,  and  result  in  giving  to  young  horses 
a  better  preparation  for  man's  service  than  they  now, 
on  the  average,  receive. 

From  the  time  the  colt  is  born,  he  should  be  taught  to 

153 


154  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

regard  man,  whom  lie  is  afterwards  to  serve,  as  his  pro- 
tector and  friend.  A  human  hand  should  first  lift  him 
gently  to  his  feet,  and  direct  his  little  mouth  to  the 
source  of  maternal  nourishment.  With  the  human 
touch  he  should  thus  early  be  made  to  associate  caresses 
and  a  supply  for  all  his-  wants.  Instead  of  yells  and 
oaths  and  kicks  and  rude  blows,  he  should  hear  only 
gentle,  loving  tones  from  the  attendant's  mouth,  and  pet- 
tings  from  his  kindly  palm.  He  should  be  taught  to 
expect  and  watch  for  man's  entrance  to  the  stall  or 
paddock  where  he  is  kept,  as  a  dog  waits  for  the  coming 
of  the  master,  as  the  season  of  joy  and  happiness.  His 
little  deer-like  limbs  should  be  handled,  and  he  be  taught 
to  yield  them  promptly  and  without  fear  to  the  master's 
touch.  In  short,  every  thing  .that  loving  ingenuity  can 
devise  should  be  done  to  impress  upon  his  mind  thus 
early  in  life  that  man  is  his  natural  protector  and  friend, 
between  whom  and  him  an  intimate  companionship  has 
been  ordained  by  beneficent  Nature,  which  insures  that 
he  shall  be  protected  and  cherished  while  he  serves. 
Ah,  me !  if  colts  could  have  such  treatment,  how  few 
vicious  horses  we  should  see !  and  how  much  greater,  in 
the  aggregate,  would  be  the  happiness  which  life  would 
bring  to  them  and  man!  I  say,  happiness j  for  He  who 
made  all  things  hath  given  unto  each  creature,  according 
to  the  class  and  order  of  its  life,  powers,  and  capacity 
for  impressions,  sufficient  to  make  existence  sweet,  and 
fill  the  days  of  its  life  to  overflowing  with  satisfactions. 
Especially   is   this   true   in   respect    to    those    animals 


HOW   TO  TRAIN   A   COLT.  155 

SO  endowed  with  high  organizations  and  subtle  forces, 
that  they  are  able  to  apprehend  and  communicate  pleas- 
ure ;  and  to  no  class  does  this  fact  apply  with  greater 
force  than  to  that  one,  the  members  of  which  are  evi- 
dently designed  by  the  Creator  to  be  both  servant  and 
companion  to  man.  Kindness  to  animals  is,  as  I  under- 
stand it,  therefore,  a  duty,  an  obligation,  resting  on 
every  one  with  the  force  of  a  moral  injunction.  Indeed, 
God  so  ranks  it  in  his  Holy  Word,  and  gave  it  honora- 
ble place  in  his  ancient  legislation.  The  horse  has  a 
Jieart-claim  upon  us.  The  young  colt  is,  in  some  sense, 
a  member  of  the  family,  one  of  the  owner's  household, 
second  in  rank  and  dignity  only  to  the  children.  So 
the  Arab  regards  him.  The  beautiful  young  thing, 
with  its  shining  coat  and  gazelle  eyes  and  sprightly 
antics,  so  full  of  bounding  but  docile  life,  is  literally  his 
children's  playmate.  He  shares  their  food,  and  often 
their  sleeping-mat ;  and  a  blow  dealt  him  is  as  promptly 
resented  as  if  it  had  been  dealt  the  oldest  son,  for 
whose  service  in  peace,  and  safety  in  the  hour  of  battle, 
the  young  thing  is  being  raised. 

When  the  colt  is  three  weeks  old,  or  thereabouts,  he 
should  be  broken  to  the  halter.  And  this  should  be 
done  properly ;  for  this  is  the  first  act  which  brings  his 
will  and  strength  in  opposition  to  man's,  and  should 
be  so  done  as  to  convey  clearly  and  decidedly  man's 
superiority,  and  his  inability  to  contend  with  him. 
Early  impressions  in  the  case  of  animals,  as  truly  as  in 
the  case  of  children,  are  lasting ;  and  here  and  now,  in 


156  THE   PERFECT   HORSE. 

this  the  first  step  in  educating  the  colt,  the  impression 
should  be  indelibly  stamped  upon  his  mind  that  man  is 
his  master.  And  this  can  and  should  be  done  without 
violence  or  cruel  force.  I  will  explain  my  method  of 
treatment,  and  the  reason  therefor.  Inquire,  then,  what 
the  groom  or  educator  of  the  colt  proposes  to  do.  This 
evidently:  He  proposes,  in  the  first  place,  to  teach  the 
colt  to  follow  after  or  by  the  side  ;  that  is,  keep  close 
to  the  one  who  is  leading  him  by  the  halter.  In  the 
second  place,  he  proposes  to  show  the  colt  that  he  can- 
not successfully  resist  him ;  that  he  is  not  so  strong  as  a 
man.  This  lesson  once  taught  the  colt,  this  impression 
once  fairly  embedded  in  his  mind,  he  will  never  after, 
in  all  his  life,  forget  it.  He  will  live  and  die  with  the 
idea  in  his  head  that  man  is  stronger  than  he.  And 
this  is  a  most  valuable  lesson  for  a  colt  to  learn,  and 
to  learn  early:  it  saves  much  after-labor  and  many  risks. 
Well,  then,  to  the  method :  I  put  a  head-halter  on,  made 
of  soft  material,  so  that  it  will  not  cut  into  his  tender 
skin,  and  so  made  that  the  cheek-pieces  will  not  draw 
into  his  eyes  when  he  pulls  back  or  struggles ;  and  when 
this  is  done  quietly  and  gently,  with  pleasant  words  and 
kind  caresses,  I  step  out  in  front  of  him,  and  planting 
myself  squarely,  so  that  he  shall  not  with  all  his  efforts 
move  me  from  my  tracks,  pull  steadily  on  the  halter, 
saying  all  the  time,  while  the  pressure  on  him  is  being 
increased,  "  Come,  sir ;  come !  "  Sometimes  the  colt  will 
come,  yielding  readily  to  the  pressure  ;  in  which  case 
pat  him  kindly,  so  as  to  make  him  feel  that  he  has  done 


HOW   TO  TRAm   A   COLT.  157 

the  right  thing ;  and  then  step  forward,  and  repeat  the 
slight  pressure  and  the  kind  command.     In  many  cases 
I  have  found  this  enough ;   and  the  colt  was  ^'  halter- 
broke  "  before  you  knew  it,  as  one  might  say.     But  more 
often,  as  soon  as  the  little  fellow  felt  the  pressure  of  the 
pull  upon  the  halter,  alarmed,  and  vexed  too,  perhaps, 
at   this  (as  he  regards  it)  rude   interference  with  his 
liberty,  he  would  "set  back"  upon  the  halter,  resisting 
the  pressure  with  all  his  strength.     When  this  is  the 
case,  stand  firm:  simply  hold  your  oivn.     Don't  twitch 
him,  or   "yank  "him  about,  or  drag  him  forward  vio- 
lently.    Let  Mm  pull     Every  moment  is  exhausting  his 
strength,  and  increasing  the  pain  he  feels  by  reason  of 
the  halter-bands  being  drawn  into  him ;  and,  after  a  few 
seconds  of  resistance,  discouraged,  and  unable  to  endure 
the  pain  his  own  effort  is  causing  him,  he  will  give 
one  great  Avrench,   rear  up,  and  plunge  toward  you. 
The  pressure  and  the  pain  are  remitted;  and  standing  by 
your  side,  your  arm  over  his  moistened  neck,  and  hand 
kindly  patting  him,  he  learns  this  sweet  lesson,  —  that 
nearness  to  the  one  that  is  leading  him  means  absence  of 
pain.     This  once  understood  by  the  colt,  he  is  thoroughly 
halter-broJce.     With  this  he  has  also  got  another  idea,  — 
that  you  are  stronger  than  he.     Had  you  tied  him  to 
a  post,  and  let  him  "pull  it  out"  as  the  phrase  is,  he 
would  have  got  no  such  idea:    the  post  or  tree,  not 
man,  would  have  been  his  master.     Or,  had  you  waited 
until  he  was  a  year  or  even  six  months  old,  he  would 
have  been  stronger  than  you  ;  and  he  would  have  found 


158  THE  PERFECT  HORSE. 

it  out  too.  In  his  first  match  against  man,  man  would 
have  been  beaten.  He,  not  you,  would  be  the  master 
at  the  halter-exercise  at  least ;  and,  while  he  might  have 
followed  you  after  a  time,  still  you  would  have  lost  the 
opportunity  of  impressing  him  with  his  powerlessness 
when  arrayed  against  man,  which  a  wise  educator  w^ll 
always  seek  to  give  to  every  colt  he  takes  in  hand. 
How  unwise,  viewed  in  this  light,  is  that  neglect  to 
break  colts  to  the  halter  even  until  they  are  three  or 
four  or  even  five  years  of  age!  "Children,"  says  a 
thoughtful  writer,  "  are  made  obedient  before  they  are 
old  enough  to  talk ;  "  and  colts,  it  might  be  added,  are 
made  obedient  to  man,  if  properly  educated,  long  before 
they  are  old  enough  to  use  in  harness.  Now  and  then, 
the  colt,  if  he  be  of  high  spirit  and  lusty,  will  struggle 
long,  and  make  a  real  "fight  over  it;"  and,  to  avoid 
accidents  in  case  that  he  should  reel  and  fall,  select 
for  the  school-ground  a  spot  of  soft  greensward,  free 
from  stones,  in  order  that  his  falls  may  be  harmless  to 
him.  Be  sure  also,  in  case  of  falling,  that  you  keep  his 
head  from  striking  the  ground  heavily  ;  which  you  can 
always  do,  because  your  hand  is  on  the  halter,  by  which 
it  can  be  supported.  This,  in  brief,  is  the  manner  in 
which  I  give  my  colts  their  first  lesson  in  that  course 
of  education,  which,  when  completed,  has  brought  them 
to  that  degree  of  intelligence  and  docility  at  which  they 
can  be  ridden  without  bridle  or  halter;  driven  without 
reins,  hold-backs,  or  breeching-band  ;  and  find  their  joy 
in  serving  me,  as  I  find  mine  in  watching  and  caring 
for  them. 


HOW   TO   TRAIN   A   COLT.  159 

When  the  foal  is  fifteen  months  old,  I  begin  again  to 
educate  him.  My  object  now  is  to  get  him  thoroughly 
acquainted  with  the  harness,  and  to  teach  him  to  stand 
quietly  to  be  harnessed.  To  this  end  I  direct  my 
efforts.  If  the  colt  is  high-mettled  or  timid,  great 
care  must  be  exercised,  and  patience  also.  Most  colts, 
remember,  are  timid :  they  are  born  so.  Animals  that 
are  not  armed  with  claws  and  teeth,  with  which  to  pro- 
tect themselves  when  attacked,  are  created  by  the  all- 
wise  Creator  with  the  power  to  fly  and  the  timid  heart. 
The  horse  is  constitutionally  timid,  then.  It  is  natural 
for  him  to  shrink  from  strange,  new  sights,  and  jump 
at  sudden  movements  and  loud  noises.  Remember  this 
when  you  come  to  harness  your  colt,  and  have  patience. 
This  is  the  order  of  procedure  in  my  stable :  The  first 
day,  I  simply  put  the  saddle  without  the  back-strap  on, 
buckling  up  the  belly-band  loosely.  This  is  done  many 
times,  increasing  the  pressure  of  the  band  until  I  have  it 
quite  as  tight  as  is  the  custom.  Then  I  take  the  neck-col- 
lar, and  put  that  over  his  head,  first  permitting  him  to 
smell  of  it,  and  touch  it  with  his  nose^  until  h^  is  entirely 
convinced  that  it  is  not  calculated  to  hurt  him.  In  like 
manner  I  continue  adding  part  to  part  until  the  colt  is 
fully  harnessed.  He  is  then  allowed  to  stand  with  the 
harness  on  him  until  he  has  time  to  reflect  upon  the 
whole  matter,  and  become  accustomed  to  the  unusual 
sensations  by  the  pressure  of  the  several  parts  of  the 
harness  against  his  sensitive  skin ;  for  we  must  re- 
member  that   all   this   performance   seems  very  queer 


160  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

to  him,  and  startling.  When  he  has  fully  composed 
his  mind,  and  settled  down  into  the  conviction  that 
every  thing  is  all  right  and  as  it  should  be  with  him, 
he  is  then  walked  about,  the  harness  still  being  on, 
and  brought  back  every  few  minutes  to  the  spot  where 
he  is  to  be  unharnessed  and  gentled,  and  taught  to  stand 
as  long  a  time  as  it  would  naturally  take  to  remove  the 
harness  from  him.  Straps  are  loosened,  buckle-tongues 
started,  saddle  and  collar  eased;  in  short,  every  thing 
done  that  would  be  done  in  unharnessing,  save  actually 
removing  the  harness.  After  doing  this  several  times, 
tliis  standing  still  while  being  unharnessed  has  come  to 
be,  in  his  mind,  a  part  of  the  programme,  and  he  under- 
stands it,  and  assents  to  it  as  such.  Once  learned,  in  the 
case  of  an  intelligent  horse,  ahoays  learned;  for  the  horse 
is  highly  organized  as  to  his  memory,  and  in  all  his  after- 
life he  never  will  forget  what  you  have  so  kindly  taught 
him.  This  same  process  should  be  gone  through  with 
several  times;  indeed,  in  the  case  of  a  high-spirited, 
valuable  colt,  once  or  twice  each  day,  for  a  week  at 
least,  because  it  is  a  most  important  part  of  his  edu- 
cation. And  you  should  remember  that  he  is  learning 
many  lessons  in  one,  including  that  greatest  of  all 
lessons  a  colt  can  learn;  viz.,  to  have  confidence  in, 
and  yield  his  will  to,  man.  Have  great  patience  at 
this  point  of  his  education,  even  as  a  teacher  must 
have  when  teaching  an  inattentive,  and  perhaps  a 
dull  child,  the  alphabet.  Do  not  count  the  days  you 
spend  now :  judge  your  success  by  the  result,  and  pro- 


HOW   TO   TRAIN   A   COLT.  161 

ceed  step  by  step,  advancing  no  ilister  than  your 
pupil's  success  justifies.  Hurry  here  and  now,  and 
you  will  ''make  a  nest  of  it,"  as  the  phrase  is.  During 
these  harness- exercises^  as  they  might  be  called,  accus- 
tom the  colt  to  pressure  against  the  breast  and  shoulder 
by  tying  long  cords  into  either  side  of  the  collar ;  and, 
by  pulling  gently,  cause  him  to  brace  himself,  as  he  will 
naturally  do,  against  you.  This  gives  him  the  idea  of 
draiving  weight  somewhere  behind  him  ;  and,  by  permit- 
ting him  to  pull  you  along,  he  will  soon  grow  to  feel 
that  he  can  imll  any  thing.  By  this  you  will,  as  it 
were,  teach  him  to  draw  a  wagon  promptly  from  the 
start,  before  you  have  ever  hitched  him  ahead  of  one. 
A  colt  so  educated  will  never  "balk,"  or  refuse  to 
"  go  "  at  the  word,  if  the  weight  behind  him  is  not 
beyond  his  strength;  because  the  signal  to  go,  and 
the  habit  of  pulling,  have  been  already  taught  him. 
At  this  point,  also,  he  should  be  taught  to  hack.  And 
here  let  me  urge  the  trainer  not  to  pull  him  backward 
bodily  by  main  force,  as  I  have  seen  trainers  and  gentle- 
men do.  "  Backing  "  is  to  a  horse  loalking  backward.,  — 
an  unnatural  and  awkward  way  for  him  to  move.  He 
was  not  made  to  go  that  way,  and  does  not  understand 
it ;  and  hence,  very  naturally,  resists  it.  In  order  to  un- 
derstand how  awkward  and  incomprehensible  it  is  to 
him,  put  a  stick  into  your  child's  mouth  that  is  some 
eighteen  months  old,  say,  and  pull  the  little  thing  back- 
ward for  a  few  steps.     I  pray  you  not  to  take  offence  at 

this  illustration :  I  seek  only  to  impress  upon  you  the 
11 


162  THE   PERFECT  HOUSE. 

idea  of  patience  and  gentleness   in   handling  one  of 
the  most  sensitive,  and  at  the  same  time  one  of  the  most 
abused,  of  God's  creatures.     Rightly  managed,  the  colt 
can  be  taught  to  walk  backward   or  side-wise,  on  all 
his  feet  or  on  his  hind-feet  only,  or  in  any  way  possible 
for  quadruped  to  move  :  nor  will  it  require  much  time, 
either,  to  impart  the  lesson.     In  order  to  do  this,  when 
the  bridle  is  on,  step  directly  in  front  of  him,  and,  with 
your  hands  grasping  either  rein,  put  a  slight  pressure 
upon  his  mouth,  using  the  word  "  back,"  spoken  clearly 
and  distinctly  (not  loudly)  at  the  same  moment.     He 
will  naturally,  even  before  he  understands  what  you  are 
at,  move  a  little  backward,  in  order  to  escape  the  slight 
pressure  of  the  bit.     This  done,  pat  him  and  gentle  him. 
Then  grasp  the  lines,  and  do  the  same  thing  over  again. 
He  will  soon  associate  the  sound  with  the  motion  back- 
ward, and,  even  before  the  close  of  the  first  lesson,  often, 
will  readily  comply  with  your  request.     Do  not  overdo 
the  thing  by  keeping  it  up  too  long ;  for,  by  so  doing,  you 
may  exasperate  him,  and  every  after-effort  to  teach  him 
will  be  the  signal  for  a  new  fight  between  you  and  him. 
The  second  or  third  day,  buckle  in  the  lines ;  and  leading 
them  through  the  breast-collar  and  breeching-straps,  so 
that  he  cannot  turn  around  and  face  you,  take  your  posi- 
tion behind  him,  and  repeat  the  lesson.     In  a  few  days 
your  colt  will  know  what  you  wish  him  to  do,  and,  I  war- 
rant you,  be  ready  to  do  it.     The  pressure  on  the  bit, 
after  he  has  once  associated  the  word  "  back  "  with  the 
motion  required,  should  accompany  the  command,  and 


HOW   TO   TRAIN   A   COLT.  16-^ 

be  instantly  remitted  on  his  compliance.  No  steady  pull 
should  be  put  upon  him.  What  you  are  after  is,  not  to 
so  develop  the  muscles  of  your  arms  that  you  can  pull  or 
drag  him  backward,  but  to  teach  your  colt  to  back  at  the 
luord  of  command;  and  no  colt  is  fit  for  market  until  he 
will  back  any  reasonable  weight  with  the  lines  lying 
loose  at  a  word  from  the  driver.  To  teach  a  young 
horse  to  push  hack  a  load  is  a  longer  process,  because 
he  does  not  know  at  first  the  proper  position  in  which 
to  put  himself  to  perform  this  feat,  nor  are  his  back- 
muscles  strong  enough  to  do  it ;  but,  by  patience  and 
kindness,  all  horses  can  be  taught  "  to  throw  themselves 
into  the  breeching "  with  a  force  and  directness  of 
propulsion  sufficient  to  move  great  loads. 

Perhaps  I  have  "  overrun  my  game,"  as  hunters  say 
of  dogs  that  have  left  birds  in  the  rear ;  and  I  will  stop, 
and  beat  back  until  we  find  one  branch  of  my  topic 
which  perchance  should  have  been  mentioned  sooner.  I 
refer  to  the  "  bitting-process  "  as  it  is  generally  termed. 

It  is  astonishing  how  much  nonsense  and  humbuggery 
trainers  and  grooms  tolerate  in  connection  with  this 
point  of  horse-education.  To  see  the  bits  that  have 
been  invented,  and  the  "  bitting- machines "  that  have 
been  patented  and  sold,  to  serve  this  purpose,  is  enough 
to  set  the  satirist  on  edge,  and  arouse  the  ire  of  the 
humane.  The  truth  is,  the  only  use  of  any  "bitting- 
machine,"  if  it  is  any  thing  more  than  a  plain  bar -bit 
in  a  bridle  without  blinkers  or  check-line,  is  to  make 
money  for  some  ignoramus,  and  torture  the  horse.     The 


164  THE  PERFECT  HOUSE. 

philosophy  of  bitting  horses,  upon  which  these  ''bit- 
ting-machines  "  are  founded,  is  a  fraud  and  folly.  There 
is  no  more  need  for  them  in  a  trainer's  yard  than  there 
is  in  a  nursery.  I  make  no  limitation  or  modification  of 
this  statement  at  all.  Their  true  name  is  "fool's  ma- 
chine," and  not  "  bitting-machine :  "  or  more  properly, 
if  you  wish  to  designate  their  use  and  result  of  it,  call 
them  "machines  to  spoil  horses'  mouths; "  for  this  appel- 
lation precisely  describes  them.  A  man  using  one  ought 
to  be  indicted  before  the  common  law  of  the  country, 
which  should  at  least  be  able  to  prevent  such  cruelty  to 
animals.  If  any  owner  of  a  colt  who  reads  this  owns 
or  uses  one  of  these  "  bitting-machines,"  I  urge  him  to 
burn  it  or  bury  it,  as  the  most  mischievous  and  hurtful 
thing  that  he  can  have  about  his  stables.  If  I  wished 
to  make  my  colts  "  hogged-mouthed "  and  desperate 
pullers,  I  would  use  one  of  these  "infernal  machines," 
as  I  have  no  doubt  the  colts  themselves  call  them,  and 
as  they  deserve  to  be  called  by  colts  and  men.  I  will 
show  you  how  this  plan  of  using  these  "  machines  " 
works. 

To  begin  with,  a  colt's  mouth  is  almost  as  tender  as 
a  babe's  when  teething.  The  tongue,  gums,  lips,  and 
bars  of  the  mouth,  are  as  sensitive  as  the  reader's.  By 
this  very  sensibility  to  pain.  Nature  has  guaranteed  man 
against  any  trouble  in  reining  him  or  controlling  him. 
He  yields  readily  and  easily  to  the  slightest  pressure. 
Indeed,  nothing  is  more  noticeable  than  this  provision 
of  Nature,  by  which  the  animal  best  adapted   to  be 


HOW   TO   TRAIN   A   COLT.  16b 

man's  servant  is  easily  made  subservient  to  his  will. 
Now,  such  a  mouth  —  so  tender  and  sensitive  —  must 
not  be  rudely  dealt  with.     It  is  easily  cut  and  lacer- 
ated ;  or,  if  not  this,  so  indurated  and  hardened  under 
pressure,  that  it  loses  its  fine  qualities,  and  grows  com- 
paratively insensible.     It  is  very  easy  to  so  lacerate  the 
gums,  tongue,  and  lips  of  a  colt's  mouth,  as  to  destroy 
or  deaden  the  nerves  that  interpret  pressure    to   the 
brain ;    and,   indeed,  to   remove    the   sense   of  feeling 
entirely,  or  next  thing  to  it.     When   this   sensibility, 
wisely  provided  by  Nature,  is  lost,  the  horse  becomes 
almost   unmanageable ;    because,   the   sense   of  feeling 
being  removed,  he  does  not  know,  nor  has  he  any  means 
of  knowing,  —  seeing  that  the  knowledge  must  reach  him 
through  the  mouth,  —  what  the  driver  wishes  him  to  do. 
Perhaps  one  side  only  of  the  mouth  becomes  hardened, 
while  the  other  remains  sensitive  ;    in  which  case  the 
horse  feels  the  pressure  of  the  bit  only  on  one  side  of 
the   mouth,    and   is   of  all   horses  the  most  vexatious 
to  drive,  from  no  fault  of  his  own,  remember,  but  from 
his  who  "bitted"  him.     True  it  is,  that  it  is  necessary 
to  harden  the  mouth  of  a  colt  somewhat,  lest  he  should 
have  what  is  called  a  "baby  mouth ;  "  that  is,  one  too 
sensitive  to  the  bit,  so  that  he  will  not  Avork  up  bravely 
against  it  as  he  should  do  when  called  upon  to  go  at 
speed.     But  this  hardening  should  be  done  slowly  ;  or, 
rather,  it  should  not  be  done  at  all  by  the  trainer;  but  the 
colt  should  do  it  himself,  as  he  will  gradually  do  day  b/ 
day  in  driving.     He  will  learn  to  take  the  hit  himself,  and 


166  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

do  it  according  as  he  is  able  to  do  it,  he  himself  being 

the  judge.     Now  let  us  begin  to  hit  a  colt  according  to 

the  machine  method.     The  colt,  never  having  been  even 

broke  to  the  halter,  perhaps,  is  let  out  into  a  yard,  the 

"machine"  strapped  on  to  his  back,  the  bit  of  iron  or 

steel  jammed  into  his  mouth,  the  check-rein  adjusted, 

and   the    colt's  head  drawn  suddenly  up  into  the  air, 

and  the  trainer  stands  one  side.     The  colt,  of  course, 

struggles  and  rears  and  plunges.     He  becomes  enraged, 

and  "  fights  the  bit :  "  foam  drops  from  his  lips  ;  pretty 

soon  it  is  stained  with  strealdngs  of  blood.     The  iron 

bit,  you  see,   as  he   "fought  it,"  has  grated  over  the 

young  teeth,  cut  into  the  tender  tongue,  and  lacerated 

the  gums  and  lips.     I  have  seen  all  this  done  (it  is  no 

fancy   sketch),  —  seen   blood   come   in   less   than    two 

minutes    after    the    "  bitting-machine "    was    adjusted. 

Now,  what  has  been  done  ?     Several  things,  I  reply. 

First,  unnecessary  imin  has  been  caused  an  innocent  and 

harmless  creature  :    that  alone  is  enough   to    condemn 

any   "machine"   ever  invented.     Secondly,   the   colt's 

mouth  has  been  spoiled  until  the  lacerated  gums  and 

lips  and  tongue  can  heal      Thirdly,  the  colt's  temper 

has  been  soured,  and  no  useful  knowledge  imparted. 

These  truths  are  self-evident.     But  this  is  not  all.     The 

"  machine,"  instead  of  being  removed,  is  left  on ;   the 

trainer  goes  to  his  work  in  the  field,  or  to  drive  ;  and 

the  colt  is  left  to  "fight  it  out."     Now,  examine  the 

matter  a  little.     What  is  the  true  position  of  things? 

This,  I  respond:    The  colt   is   in   pain.     His    head   is 


HOW  TO   TRAIN   A   COLT.  167 

drawn  up  to  an  unnatural  height ;  his  neck,  pulled  into 
an  angle  both  awkward  and  painful,  aches  with  exquisite 
suffering.  To  appreciate  the  agony  the  young  thing  en- 
dures, let  some  one  take  hold  of  your  own  head,  and 
draw  it  up  and  backward  as  high  and  as  far  as  the 
bone-structure  and  muscles  will  permit,  and  compel  you 
to  stand  with  it  in  that  position  even  for  fiVe  minutes. 
In  this  way  you  will  get  some  idea  of  ''bitting-ma- 
chines,"  and  the  actual  torture  which  colts  experience 
while  being  ''bitted"  by  them. 

But  the  evil  of  this  system  is  not  yet  fully  stated. 
The  colt,  with  his  head  drawn  up  and  back,  is  left  in  the 
yard,  as  I  have  said,  while  the  trainer  goes  to  his  work 
or  to  drive.  Perhaps  he  stands  an  hour ;  perhaps  five 
hours  ;  very  likely  all  day.  For  the  first  few  minutes  he 
strives  to  keep  his  head  up,  and  the  bit  loose  in  his 
mouth,  because  it  pains  him ;  but  pretty  soon  the 
muscles  of  his  neck  begin  to  ache.  They  were  never 
made  to  hold  up  the  head  in  that  style,  and  are  actually 
unable  to  do  it  for  any  considerable  length  of  time. 
Soon  the  head  sags :  the  pain  in  the  overtasked  muscles 
of  the  neck  is  greater  even  than  that  caused  by  the 
pressure  of  the  bit.  It  is,  you  see,  with  the  colt,  a 
choice  between  two  pains.  Little  by  little,  the  head 
droops ;  heavier  and  heavier  the  weight  of  it  is  laid 
upon  the  bit ;  and,  in  the  course  of  an  hour  or  two,  the 
colt  stands  weary  and  stolid,  the  weight  of  his  head  and 
neck  laid  solidly  down  upon  the  bit.  The  colt  is 
being  taught^  you  see,  to  *'  take  the  bit "  with  a  ven- 


168  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

geance.  He  is  actually  being  educated  to  "hog  on  the 
bit,"  and  be  a  puller.  No  method  of  bitting  can  be 
more  vicious  and  villanous  than  this,  inflicting,  as  it 
does,  torture  on  the  innocent  victim,  and,  in  not  a  few 
cases,  actually  putting  the  animal  beyond  the  reach  of 
future  betterment. 

The  true  way  to  bit  a  colt  is,  not  to  bit  him  at  all ; 
that  is,  let  him  bit  himself  When  my  colts  are  one 
year  old,  I  begin  to  teach  them  to  hold  a  bit  in  their 
mouth.  The  bit  is  of  pine,  some  half-inch  in  diameter, 
and  five  inches  in  length.  This  piece  of  soft  wood  is 
held  in  the  mouth  by  a  cord  tied  to  either  end,  and 
passing  over  the  head,  back  of  the  ears.  The  colt  loves 
to  have  this  in  his  mouth,  because  it  enables  him  to 
bring  forward  the  teething-process.  He  will  bite  it, 
and  work  it  over  in  his  mouth,  and  enjoy  it  hugely. 
He  will  welcome  it,  and  will  actually  reach  out  and 
open  his  mouth  for  it  as  a  trained  horse  will  for  the  bit. 
After  a  few  days  you  can  tie  strings,  making  miniature 
reins  to  this  bit,  and  teach  the  colt  the  proper  use  of  it. 
When  this  is  done,  he  is  ready  for  the  regular  steel 
bit.  Put  your  bridle  on  with  a  leather  bit,  large  and 
pliant;  throw  your  check-line,  if  your  bridle  has  one 
attached,  into  the  pig-sty  ;  get  into  your  wagon,  and 
drive  off.  This  is  all  the  "  bitting"  a  colt  needs.  Treat- 
ed in  this  way,  he  will  have  a  lively,  yielding,  sensa- 
tional mouth.  He  will  take  the  bit  bravely  when  work- 
ing up  to  his  speed,  but  yield  readily  to  the  driver's 
will.     A  horse  bitted  in  this  sensible  way  can  be  driven 


HOW   TO  TRAIN   A   COLT.  1G9 

a  forty-clip  with  the  lines  held  in  one  hand,  or  be  lifted 
over  a  five-barred  gate  with  the  strength  of  a  single 
wrist.  If  you  don't  believe  it,  try  it,  and  see.  Many 
people  prefer  to  put  the  colt  beside  an  older  horse,  and 
let  him  take  the  first  dozen  drives  on  the  road  in  double 
harness:  and  to  this  method  I  see  no  serious  objection ; 
although,  for  myself,  I  do  not  favor  it.  My  colts  are  all 
taught  to  go  single  first,  and  thoroughly  taught  at  that ; 
and  I  hold  that  this  is  the  better  way.  But,  if  you  pre- 
fer the  other  method,  be  sure  that  the  horse  beside 
which  the  colt  is  hitched  is  in  every  respect  reliable  and 
well  instructed ;  because  the  colt  will  catch  at,  and  be 
sure  to  imitate,  any  vice  or  fault  in  the  older  horse.  Do 
not  select  a  lazy,  slow-moving  horse  for  the  service, 
but  rather  a  quick-moving  animal,  lively,  but  amiable. 
A  colt  naturally  starts  quickly,  and  moves  sprightly ;  and 
a  slow-starting,  slow-moving  brute  by  his  side  will  irritate 
him.  The  older  horse  should  be  quick  enough  to  start 
the  load  himself,  and  keep  it  moving,  so  that  the  colt  shall 
not  be  unduly  fretted  and  chafed :  if  not,  the  younger 
horse  has  to  start  and  draw  the  whole  weight ;  and  in 
that  case  his  temper  will  get  up,  and  you  will  have  a 
fracas.  I  know  that  some  breakers  love  to  get  into  a 
fight  with  a  colt,  and  "  take  the  starch  out  of  him ;  " 
but  this  is  villanous  conduct,  and  has  neither  necessity 
nor  reason  to  justify  it.  The  true  way  is  to  avoid  these 
"  fights "  with  the  animal  you  are  teaching ;  and,  by 
the  exercise  of  patience  and  kindness,  give  him  time  to 
understand  what  is  wanted  of  him,  and  make  him  love 


170  THE  PERFECT  HORSE. 

to  do  it.  Remember  that  some  colts  are  slow-witted, 
and  easily  confused ;  and  a  single  blow  or  yell,  on  the 
part  of  the  trainer,  may  throw  him  into  a  state  of 
temporary  fear  or  exasperation,  which  totally  unfits  him 
to  understand  even  the  simplest  command.  And  here 
let  me  urge  upon  the  reader  who  has  a  colt,  or  colts,  to 
teach,  that,  if  he  has  the  habit  of  speaking  sharply  and 
loudly,  he  correct  himself  of  it  at  once.  Colts  are 
timid,  high-spirited  things,  if  they  are  worth  any  thing ; 
and  he  who  manages  them  should  be  of  quiet  habits, 
and  have  a  low,  pleasant-toned  voice.  The  trainer  that 
yells  stands  in  the  same  category  as  the  driver  in  a 
public  race  who  screams  and  whoops  like  a  Comanche 
Indian  when  coming  down  the  home-stretch :  the  one 
should  be  banished  the  track,  and  the  other  turned  out 
of  the  gentleman's  stables.  But  to  return.  My  method 
of  educating  a  colt  to  the  harness  and  wagon  is  to  edu- 
cate him  singly,  by  himself;  and  this  education  should 
begin  very  early.  When  the  colt  is  twelve  or  four- 
teen months  old,  begin  to  put  the  harness  on  him.  In 
a  few  weeks  he  is  accustomed  to  it,  and  ready  for  the 
shafts.  But,  in  doing  this,  do  not  be  in  a  hurry  Give 
the  youngster  time  to  get  thoroughly  acquainted  with 
every  strap  and  buckle,  as  it  were.  Let  him  see  every 
thing,  and  smell  every  thing.  The  sense  of  sight,  smell, 
and  touch,  is  the  great  avenue  of  knowledge  to  the 
horse,  especially  the  last  two.  The  ear  and  eye  give 
the  alarm.  These  two  organs  stand,  as  it  were,  on 
picket  for  the  animal's  safety.     But,  if  your  horse   is 


HOW  TO   TRAIN   A  COLT.  171 

frightened  at  any  thing,  let  him  smell  and  touch  it,  and 
he  will  fear  no  longer. 

If  your  colt  is  afraid  of  your  harness  as  it  comes 
rustling  out  of  the  harness-room,  let  him  touch  it  with 
his  nose,  and  smell  of  it  a  few  times,  and  he  will 
soon  understand  that  it  will  not  hurt  him.  If  he  is 
inclined  to  kick  or  jump  if  the  breeching-band  or  any 
strap  hits  his  hams  or  legs,  by  gently  rubbing  them 
against  the  sensitive  places  he  will  soon  become  indif- 
ferent to  them.  By  the  time  the  colt  is  two  years 
of  age,  or  even  less,  he  should  be  educated  to  go 
between  the  shafts,  either  forward  or  backward,  and  be 
thoroughly  familiar  with  the  harness  and  vehicle  and 
ordinary  road-service.  Instructed  at  this  early  age,  he 
will  never  forget  the  lessons  of  obedience  and  sub- 
mission taught,  but  be  ready  at  any  future  time  to  be 
put  to  work,  without  any  considerable  trouble  to  the 
owner  or  purchaser. 

In  case  your  colt  is  a  vicious  one,  I  have  no  advice 
to  give,  unless  it  be  to  kill  him.  There  is  no  need 
that  a  vicious  colt  should  ever  be  raised;  and  I  hold 
that  it  is  a  sin  against  the  beneficent  order  of  nature 
for  a  man  to  raise  an  animal  whose  very  existence 
imperils  other  existences.  The  public  would  regard 
a  man  insane  who  spent  time  and  money  in  stock- 
ing his  garden-plot  with  a  superior  kind  of  thorns : 
they  would  say  that  it  was  an  abuse  of  nature,  and  a 
sinful  waste  of  opportunity.  What  shall  we  say,  then, 
to  the  man  who  goes  to  work,  year  after  year,  and 


172  '        THE   PERFECT   HORSE. 

deliberately  fills  his  stalls  with  vicious  colts  ?  Logically, 
the  same  answer  would  be  returned;  and  this  is  the 
WAy  that  every  right-minded  breeder  regards  it.  Neither 
beauty  nor  speed  in  a  horse  can  make  amends  for  a 
vicious  temper;  because  a  vicious  temper  in  a  horse 
imperils  human  life,  and  whatever  does  this  is  by  that 
fact  condemned.  And  so  I  say,  that  no  vicious  colt  is 
worth  the  breaking.  He  is  unfit  for  the  purposes  of 
civilization.  He  should  be  treated  as  any  other  ferocious 
and  dangerous  animal  should  be  treated,  —  killed  at 
sight.  But  some  colts,  while  they  are  not  actually 
vicious,  are  not  truly  amiable.  They  represent  an  inter- 
mediate class,  lying  between  the  really  docile  and  the 
ungovernable ;  and  are,  hence,  objects  of  interest  to  all 
owners  and  trainers.  It  is  doubtful  if  any  general  rule 
or  rules  can  be  made  to  apply  to  this  class  of  animals, 
because  their  faults  and  vices  are  not  the  same,  but  indi- 
vidual, differing  in  different  cases.  Still  I  will  glance  at 
some  of  the  more  prominent  failings  or  vices  of  this 
class  of  animals,  and  suggest,  so  far  as  one  can  without 
a  personal  knowledge  of  each  subject,  the  proper  method 
of  treatment. 

First  of  all,  we  must  observe  this  principle,  — that  pun- 
ishment alone  can  never  eradicate  viciousness,  especially 
if  the  subject  of  it  has  a  high-spirited  organization. 
Whipping  alone  never  reformed  a  bad  child.  The  lash 
never  makes  a  vicious  colt  amiable.  It  may  change  the 
mode  or  the  time  of  its  manifestation ;  but  the  inherent 
ugliness  will,   seizing   some   favorable    moment,    break 


HOW   TO   TRAIN  A  COLT.  173 

forth.  This  principle  being  borne  in  mind  by  the 
trainer,  if  he  be  a  man  of  judgment,  will  supply  him 
with  a  good  guide  in  his  educational  efforts.  If  the 
whip  is  ever  used,  —  and  I  think  it  can  be  with  profit  at 
times,  —  let  the  blow  be  sudden  and  sharp,  and  rarely 
repeated.  Beating  and  pummelling  a  colt  never  does 
good,  and  rarely,  if  ever,  fails  to  work  lasting  mischief 
One  of  the  meanest  tricks  that  a  colt  can  fall  into  is  that 
of  running  backwards,  which  the  English  call  "jibbing." 
Your  colt  is  harnessed,  and  safely  led  out  of  the  car- 
riage-house or  yard.  You  mount  the  seat,  and  tell  him 
to  go  ahead.  This  he  refuses  to  do.  He  looks  round  at 
you  with  deliberate  wilfulness  in  his  eye,  as  much  as  to 
say,  "  I  rather  think  I  shall  do  about  as  I'm  a  mind  to  in 
this  business."  You  lift  the  whip  from  the  socket,  tap 
him  gently  over  the  rump,  and  tell  him  to  go  ahead. 
Instead  of  this,  he  begins  to  go  backward.  I  have  seen 
a  man  work  two  hours  in  a  vain  endeavor  to  make  his 
colt  go  forward.  The  colt  was  by  no  means  vicious ; 
and  this  habit  of  running  backward,  or  jibbing,  was  the 
only  bad  one  that  he  had.  But  this  threatened  to  mar, 
if  not  utterly  thwart,  the  trainer's  endeavor.  Day  after 
day,  the  colt  was  tried.  He  was  pulled  forward  by 
main  strength;  the  whip  was  used  judiciously;  he  was 
coaxed ;  he  was  threatened :  but  it  was  literally  no  go. 
At  last  the  trainer  harnessed  him  into  a  common  road- 
sulky,  and  led  him  out  into  a  large  field  free  from  all 
obstruction ;  and  placing  himself  behind  the  sulky,  with 
the  reins  held  tightly  in  his  hands,  he  gave  the  signal 


174  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

for  the  colt  to  move.  Move  he  did,  but  backward,  not 
forward.  When  the  colt  began  to  run  backward,  the 
trainer,  instead  of  seeking  to  check  him,  allowed  him 
the  fullest  freedom  of  action,  simply  keeping  one  line  a 
little  tauter  than  the  other,  so  that  the  colt  should  run 
backward,  not  in  a  straight  line,  but  in  a  curve.  When 
the  circle  was  nearly  complete,  the  colt  was  ready  to 
stop,  his  eyes  filled  with  the  look  of  intense  and  wilful 
satisfaction.  But  his  trainer  did  not  propose  to  let  him 
stop.  He  put  a  strong  and  steady  pressure  upon  the  bit, 
compelling  the  colt,  against  his  will,  to  keep  the  back- 
ward movement.  This  had  the  desired  effect.  By*  the 
time  the  colt  had  been  spun  rapidly  twice  around  that 
circle,  he  had  had  enough  of  it.  He  was  literally  giddy; 
so  much  so,  that  he  could  barely  stand.  This  cured 
him:  he  had  been  caught  in  his  own  trap.  The  trainer 
mounted  the  seat,  patted  him  on  the  haunches,  and 
called  on  him  pleasantly  to  go  ahead.  From  that  day 
he  gave  no  trouble :  he  was  completely  cured.  I  have 
known  this  tried  in  many  cases ;  and  each  time  the 
result  was  satisfactory. 

Another  mean  habit  is  that  of  lying  down  in  the  har- 
ness. Some  colts  will  lie  down  almost  as  soon  as  you 
have  them  harnessed.  Sometimes  a  blow  from  the  whip, 
delivered  low  down  along  the  side,  quick  and  sharp,  will 
bring  them  up  with  a  spring.  If  one  or  two  blows  do 
not  answer,  the  whip  is  of  no  use :  you  will  only  torture 
and  scar  your  colt  needlessly.  The  better  way  is  to 
''beat  him  at  his  own  trade,"  as  the  saying  is.     When 


HOW   TO  TRAIN   A  COLT.  175 

he  lies  down,  get  upon  his  head  and  neck,  and  make  him 
stay  there.  After  five  or  ten  minutes,  he  will  begin  to 
grow  uneasy.  He  won't  know  quite  what  to  make  of  it. 
Soon  he  will  feel  the  uncomfortableness  of  his  position. 
He  will  make  an  effort  to  rise.  Now  is  your  time :  keep 
him  down.  Down  with  his  head  flat  to  the  ground,  and 
hold  it  there.  It  is  no  boy's  play ;  but  you  can  do  it  if 
you  are  determined,  and  reasonably  strong.  Only  don't 
let  the  job  out  to  a  small  boy ;  for  the  job  is  a  big  one  at 
times,  and  needs  a  quick  eye,  a  stout  hand,  and  a  strong 
back.  Watch  the  colt,  and  don't  let  him  up  as  long  as 
he  is  rebellious,  if  you  hold  him  there  all  day,  and  the 
following  night  at  that !  Let  him  sweat  and  struggle : 
he  is  learning  two  valuable  lessons,  —  the  first  of  which 
is,  that  it  does  not  pay  to  lie  down  in  the  harness; 
and  the  second  is,  that  man  is  stronger  than  he.  This 
latter  point  includes  almost  every  thing  in  relation  to 
the  training  of  a  certain  class  of  horses.  Until  they 
are  taught  this  idea,  they  are  utterly  unmanageable: 
you  can  make  no  progress  in  their  education.  But  let 
them  once  learn  that  they  are  not  the  masters,  but  are 
as  nothing  in  the  hand  of  the  trainer,  and  the  battle  is 
won :  all  that  is  needed  follows  naturally  and  easily. 
Now,  there  is  no  position  which  gives  man  such  absolute 
command  and  mastery  over  a  colt  as  when  he  has  his 
knees  on  his  neck,  and  his  hands  gripped  into  the  bridle- 
pieces.  Thus  situated,  man  is  absolutely  "  master  of  the 
situation ; "  and  I  have  often  thought  that  it  was  a  very 
good  idea  to  have  a  colt  of  rather  vicious  temper  lie 


176  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

down  once,  in  order  that  he  might  learn  how  powerless  he 
is  in  the  hands  of  man.  When  a  colt  gives  up,  the  man 
at  his  head  will  easily  perceive  it.  The  hot  blaze  and 
mad  glitter  will  leave  the  eye ;  the  muscles  will  relax 
their  tension  ;  the  neck  will  become  limp ;  and  the  whole 
body,  losing  its  rigidity,  will  lie  along  the  earth  as  if  it 
had  no  thought  of  rising,  and  would  never  rise.  This 
is  the  stage  of  exhaustion  and  submission.  The  colt's 
rampant  spirit  is  cowed,  and  his  pride  humbled.  His 
conceit  is  taken  out  of  him.  He  has  been  beaten  by 
his  own  Aveapons,  and  knows  it.  He  will  never  trouble 
you  again  in  that  way.  As  to  the  time  it  takes  to 
bring  a  colt  to  this  conviction,  there  is  no  precise  limit. 
Some  colts  will  "give  it  up"  in  twenty  minutes  ;  some 
in  sixty ;  and  I  have  known  colts  hold  out  for  three 
liours.  But,  whether  it  takes  longer  or  shorter,  carry 
the  thing  through:  Believe  me,  you  cannot  spend  your 
time  better. 

Another  fault,  or  rather  habit,  —  for  it  is  often  only  the 
result  of  habit,  and  no  result  or  proof  of  viciousness,  —  is 
kicking.  We  should  remember  that  a  colt  kicks  natu- 
rally ;  that  is,  he  does  it  in  self-defence,  and  also  in  the 
way  of  play.  It  is,  as  it  were,  his  birthright,  by  which  he 
expresses  his  physical  spirits,  and  defends  himself  The 
fact  is,  no  colt  should  ever  be  put  between  the  shaft 
without  a  kicking -strap  ;  that  is,  a  strap  buckled  to  either 
shaft,  and  passed  over  the  haunches  in  such  a  way  as  to 
make  it  impossible  for  him  to  get  his  heels  over  the 
cross-tree.     This  is  the  only  safe  way  to  pursue.     Gen- 


HOW  TO   TRAIN  A  COLT.  177 

erally  speaking,  a  slight  twitch  on  the  reins,  just  as  he 
is  on  th6  point  of  "  lifting,"  will  check  the  effort:  but 
it  needs  a  quick  eye  and  hand  to  catch  the  colt  soon 
enough  to  keep  his  heels  out  of  the  dashboard  ;  and  not 
over  two  in  ten  men  would  be  sure  to  do  it.  But,  by 
using  the  kicking-strap,  all  danger  and  risk  are  averted ; 
and  therefore  I  invariably  insist  on  it  in  educating  my 
colts.  After  two  or  three  attempts  to  "  lift^'''  the 
youngster  finds  he  cannot ;  and  is  thereby,  as  the  Irish- 
man said,  "cured  of  the  disease  before  he  had  it."  In 
the  case  of  colts,  as  of  men,  an  "  ounce  of  prevention  is 
worth  a  pound  of  cure." 

As  to  the  matter  of  "balking,"  no  general  direction 
can  be  given,  or  rule  established.  If  the  education  of 
the  colt  has  been  conducted  in  accordance  with  the 
principles  I  have  in  previous  pages  laid  down,  he  will 
not  balk.  Balking  on  the  part  of  colts  is,  for  the  most 
part,  the  result  of  the  trainer's  ignorance  or  passion. 
Yelling  and  whipping  on  the  part  of  the  trainer  or 
driver,  over-loading,  sore  shoulders,  or  ill-fitting  collars,  — 
these  are  the  causes  that  make  horses  balk.  But  if  you 
have  a  horse  or  colt  that  balks,  while  I  cannot,  without 
a  personal  knowledge  of  the  subject,  tell  you  what  to 
do,  I  can  tell  you  what  not  to  do,  —  never  whip.  If  he 
won't  go,  let  him  stand  still  and  think  it  over.  He 
will  very  often  think  better  of  it,  and  after  a  few  mo- 
ments' reflection,  and  a  few  tosses  of  his  head,  go  on  of 
his  own  accord.  Or,  if  this  does  not  answer,  get  out 
of  the  wagon  and  pat  him,  and  talk  to  him  kindly.     A 

12 


178  THE  PERFECT  HORSE. 

horse  is  very  susceptible  to  kindness ;  and  I  have  known 
more  than  one  quite  vicious  horse   gentled  into  good 
behavior  by  a  few  pats  from  a  lady's  gloved  hand  on 
the  moist  neck  and  veined  muzzle.      Sometimes   it   is 
well  to  loosen  a  strap  or  start  a  buckle.     I  have  known 
the  mere  act  of  unchecking  and  rechecking  the  animal 
answer  the  purpose.     It  took  his  attention  off  in  another 
direction,  you  see,  changed  the  current  of  his  thought, 
and  broke  up  his  purpose  and  determination  to  resist. 
For  this  same  reason,  an  apple,  or  a  bunch  of  grass 
from  the  roadside,  or  a  handful  of  oats,  or  a  few  ker- 
nels of  corn,  will  often  accomplish  what  an  hour  of 
beating  could  never  effect.     The  truth  is,  a  man  must 
govern  himself  before  he  can  hope  to  govern  lower 
animals.     A  man  flushed  with  passion,  his  brain  charged 
with  heated  blood,  and  eyes  blazing  with  rage,  is  not 
in  a  condition  to  think  clearly ;  and  it  is  just  this  think- 
ing dearly  that  is,  above  all  else,  needed  in  directing  and 
controlling  horses.     Hence  it  is,  that  contact  with  horses, 
and  an  actual  experience  in  teaching  them,  is  one  of 
the  finest  disciplines  a  man  can  have.     He  grows  to 
love  the  colt  he  is  teaching ;  and  no  nature  is  utterly 
depraved  in  which  is  going  on  the  exercise  of  affection, 
no  matter  how  humble  the  object  of  it  may  be.     His 
employment  makes  it  necessary  for  him  to  think ;  and 
this   keeps   intellect,  which   might   otherwise  have  no 
development,  alive.     The  language  of  the  stable  is  not, 
as  many  pious  and  ignorant  people  imagine,  all  slang. 
Care  and  anxiety  are  felt  in  the  groom's  room,  and  con- 


now  TO  TRAIN  A   COLT.  179 

sultations  held  upon  the  issue  of  which  the  health  and 
safety  of  valuable  property  depend.  Plans  are  formed, 
and  methods  of  procedure  adopted,  upon  which  fame, 
and  vast  sums  of  money,  come  and  go.  Faults  of  na- 
ture, and  errors  of  education  and  practice,  are  corrected ; 
and  the  trainer  discovers,  that,  in  schooling  God's  crea- 
tures, he  is  being  schooled  himself  Thus,  as  in  all 
other  branches  of  honorable  industry,  the  horseman 
discovers  that  he  is  the  point  from  which  one  current 
goes  forth,  and  another  enters  in.  He  bestows,  and  he 
receives ;  he  educates,  and  is  educated ;  and  the  life 
which  so  many  thoughtless  people  despise,  closes,  as  in 
the  case  of  Hiram  Woodruff,  —  the  upright  in  heart 
and  act,  —  with  honor,  and  a  fame  which  can  fail  only 
when  kindness  toward  animals,  and  integrity  among 
men,  are  regarded  as  of  no  account. 

It  is,  as  I  have  said,  impossible  for  a  writer  to  lay 
down  rules  adequate  for  the  trainer's  guidance  and 
direction  in  the  management  of  vicious  or  irritable  colts ; 
for  very  likely  no  two  cases  require  the  same  treat- 
ment. These  points  may,  however,  be  made :  Keep  your 
temper.  No  matter  how  provoked :  put  a  severe  curb 
upon  the  rising  of  passion.  A  cool  head,  and  calm  and 
steady  nerves,  with  a  quick  eye,  will  go  far  towards 
success  in  conflicts  with  even  the  most  irritating  animals. 
Moreover,  never  forget  that  the  law  of  kindness  is 
stronger  in  its  influence  on  the  animal  creation  than  the 
law  of  force.  Remember  this  also :  Do  not  make  much 
noise  when  having  a  contest  with  a  colt.     Say  little  to 


180  THE  PEBFECT   HORSE. 

him,  and  nothing  to  any  one  else.  Do  not  be  shouting, 
''  Get  up!  "  "  Whoa !  "  "  Look  out  there  !  "  and  the  like. 
Silence  is  a  great  virtue  in  a  horse-trainer.  A  low- 
voiced  groom  is  worth  his  weight  in  gold  about  the 
stables.  A  horse  cannot  understand  sounds  like  a  hu- 
man being ;  and  the  less  said  to  him,  for  the  most  part, 
the  better.  '  A  few  sounds,  of  course,  are  necessary ;  the 
word  "whoa''  being  one  of  these.  This  word  should 
mean  stop :  it  should  never  mean  any  thing  else  in  the 
colt's  ears.  It  should  be  pronounced  in  a  quick,  sharp, 
imperative  tone.  It  should  never  be  drawled  out  or 
prolonged,  as  if  there  were  a  dozen  a's,  instead  of  one, 
after  the  o,  as  is  often  the  case.  Whoa  means  stojp^  as  I 
have  said.  When  a  colt  hears  it,  he  should  stop,  and  stop 
in  his  tracks  too.  It  is  not  a  word  to  be  frequently  used, 
therefore,  but  to  be  saved  for  emergencies;  as  when 
some  strap  or  bolt  gives  way,  a  bit  parts  in  the  mouth,  or 
an  upset  occurs.  At  such  a  time  you  can  say  ^^Whoaf' 
and  if  it  has  always  meant  stop  to  your  horse,  if  he 
was  broken  to  so  understand  it  when  young,  he  will  so 
understand  it  then,  and  stop ;  thereby  saving,  perhaps, 
your  limbs,  or  even  life.  The  common  fault  is  to  use  the 
word  to  steady  the  horse  when  speeding,  or  to  slow  him 
up.  For  this  purpose  take  some  other  word  or  words  ; 
as,  "Steady,  boy;  steady!"  but  let  the  word  "whoa" 
mean  but  one  thing  to  your  horse  ;  viz.,  to  stop,  and  stop 
instantly.  The  horse  of  ordinary  intelligence  can  be 
made  to  understand  this  with  very  little  trouble,  and 
in  less  than  a  dozen  lessons,     I  have  seen  horses  trained 


HOW   TO  TEAIN  A  COLT.  181 

in  less  than  a  week's  time,  so  that,  when  streaming  round 
the  exercise-lot  at  a  swinging  gait,  they  would  stop  at 
the  word  sent  forth  from  the  mouth  of  the  trainer,  so 
quickly  as  to  actually  throw  themselves  upon  their 
haunches.  The  method  is  simple.  Put  your  bridle  on 
to  your  colt,  buckle  in  a  pair  of  long  lines,  and,  taking 
position  in  the  rear,  start  him  along.  After  he  has  taken 
a  few  steps,  say  "  Whoa  !  "  and  at  the  same  time  give  him 
a  slight  twitch  on  the  bit  sufficient  to  cause  him  to  stop. 
Do  not  be  rude  or  harsh,  but  gentle  and  firm.  Start 
him  now  again,  and  repeat  the  sound  and  the  move- 
ment of  the  hand.  The  colt  will  soon  catch  the  idea, 
and  learn  what  the  sound  means.  Then  you  can  go  on, 
and  teach  him  that  it  not  only  means  stop^  but  that  it 
means  to  stop  instantly.  A  few  days  of  this  simple 
treatment  will  suffice  to  teach  him  thoroughly  the 
lesson,  which,  when  well  learned,  he  never  forgets,  and 
the  real  value  of  which  can  scarcely  be  overestimated. 
If  the  colt  is  worth  five  hundred  dollars  Avhen  broken 
in  the  ordinary  way,  he  is  certainly  worth  six  hundred 
when  instructed  fully  in  the  manner  I  have  set  forth. 
Any  sensible  man,  in  purchasing  a  horse  for  family  ser- 
vice or  for  fast  driving  on  the  road,  Avill  gladly  pay  a 
hundred  dollars  extra  if  the  breeder  can  show  to  him 
that  the  colt  will  stop  short  in  his  tracks  at  the  word ; 
for  he  sees,  that,  amid  even  the  average  risks  and  hazards 
of  driving,  such  a  power  over  the  animal  may  prove  of 
supreme  importance. 

Next  to  this  understanding,  on  the  part  of  the  colt. 


182  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

of  the  significance  of  the  word  "whoa,"  is  indifference 
to  pressure  upon  the  hams  and  legs  from  behind.  So 
important  is  this,  that  I  hold  that  the  education  of  no 
colt  is  really  completed  until  he  can  be  driven  on  or- 
dinary roads  without  breeching  or  hold-backs.  He 
should  be  taught  to  be  utterly  fearless  and  indifferent 
to  the  wagon  coming  suddenly  upon  him  from  behind. 
So  far  as  the  human  mind  may  predict,  my  own  life  has 
been  certainly  saved  once,  because  the  horses  I  was 
driving,  when  the  pole  snapped  half  way  down  a  moun- 
tain-side, had  been  taught  these  two  supreme  virtues, 
—  to  stop  at  the  word  "whoa,"  and  to  hold  the  wagon 
back  with  their  haunches.  It  is  astonishing  to  me  that 
two  habits  of  obedience  so  essential  as  these,  and  so 
easily  inculcated,  should  not  be  regarded  as  actually  in- 
dispensable. I  have  pointed  out  the  process  of  teaching 
a  colt  to  stop  at  the  word.  I  will  now  suggest  my 
method  of  teaching  horses  not  to  fear  when  the  wagon 
comes  suddenly  against  them.  I  take  the  horse,  and, 
backing  him  between  the  shafts,  continue  to  back  him 
slowly  and  easily  until  his  hams  come  in  contact  with 
the  whiffletree.  He  may  start  at  first;  but,  after  a 
few  trials,  he  becomes  absolutely  indifferent  to  it. 
Then,  calling  the  groom  to  the  head  of  the  horse,  I 
station  myself  behind  the  wagon  or  carriage,  and, 
speaking  kindly  and  soothingly  to  the  horse,  push  it 
slowly  forward  until  it  comes  against  him.  All  this 
is  done  quietly,  remember,  and  so  gently  as  neither 
to  hurt  nor  alarm  the  animal.     After  a  few  trials,  the 


HOW   TO  TRAIN   A  COLT.  183 

horse  becomes  accustomed  to  it,  and  will  actually  brace 
himself  against  your  pressure.  This  is  what  you  have 
been  after.  He  has  caught  the  idea,  and  will  hence- 
forth enter  heartily  into  your  plan.  In  a  few  days 
he  will  even  bear  pain  in  resisting  your  efforts,  and 
not  flinch,  and  adjust  himself  in  such  a  way  as  to  re- 
ceive the  pressure  at  the  best  angle  of  resistance.  You 
can  now  hitch  him  into  your  wagon,  and  leave  the 
breeching  and  hold-backs  at  home.  After  two  months 
of  training,  I  have  driven  a  colt,  which  was  not  at  all 
amiable  by  nature,  for  miles  on  a  country -road,  where 
the  hills,  while  they  were  not  long,  were  steep,  with 
nothing  whatever  to  assist  him  in  holding  back  the 
wagon.  While  I  would  not  advise  any  to  pursue  this 
course,  I  still  declare  my  belief  that  the  majority  of 
colts  could  be  easily  trained  to  stand  this  test;  and  I 
urge  all  trainers  to  so  educate  the  animals  in  their 
charge,  that  the  breaking  of  a  single  strap,  the  snapping 
of  a  bolt,  or  even  the  falling-off  of  a  nut,  shall  not  en- 
danger the  lives  of  those  who  are  riding  trustingly 
behind. 

I  have  now  gone  over  the  matter  of  horse-educa- 
tion so  far  as  is  necessary  to  fit  him  for  the  average 
public  use.  We  began  with  him  when  he  stood  at  his 
mother  s  side,  and,  by  gradual  processes  of  instruction, 
brought  him  up  through  the  several  grades  of  knowl- 
edge of  and  familiarity  with  men  and  things,  until  he  has 
become  serviceable  to  man.  He  who  brings  a  colt  up 
in  this  way  is  a  public  benefactor.     It  may  be,  that,  so 


184  THE   PERFECT   HORSE. 

far  as  he  is  concerned,  selfishness  supplied  the  actual 
motive  at  every  stage  of  the  proceeding ;  but,  never- 
theless, selfishness  cannot  appropriate  the  result.  The 
motive  was  not  generous ;  but  the  result  is  noble.  He 
has  ministered  to  the  enjoyment  of  many ;  he  has  added 
to  the  possibilities  of  social  intercourse  and  domestic 
happiness.  He  will  be  paid  for  his  labor  in  dollars; 
but  the  profit  which  he  has  brought  to  the  world  can- 
not be  estimated  in  currency.  Commerce  will  add 
another  sail  to  her  squadron,  the  rail-car  have  a  heavier 
freight,  the  social  room  a  fuller  company,  and  the  house 
of  God  a  larger  audience,  because  of  the  animal  that  he 
has  so  successfully  raised  and  trained  for  human  use. 

We  will  now  pass  on  to  consider  the  higher  educa- 
tion of  the  horse :  by  which  I  mean  those  processes  and 
methods  of  proceeding  by  which  the  more  characteris- 
tic traits  of  his  nature,  chiefest  among  which  is  speed, 
are  brought  forward,  under  wise  management,  to  per- 
fection. Let  us,  therefore,  inquire  how  a  colt  should  be 
treated  in  order  to  develop  in  him  the  highest  degree 
of  speed.  We  will  take  an  animal  at  two  years  of  age, 
let  us  say,  and  inquire  into  the  best  method  of  cultivat- 
ing the  faculty  and  power  of  rapid  motion. 

The  first  thing  to  attend  to,  be  it  observed  by  all,  is 
the  luncjs.  Lung-power  is  the  best  kind  of  power  a 
horse  can  possibly  have,  because  it  alone  can  make 
other  kinds  of  power  of  avail.  Muscular  power  is  very 
desirable  ;  but  muscles  can  never  bring  a  horse  to  the 
wir-e  in  time,  unless  his  lungs  are  good.     Nervous  force 


HOW   TO   TRAIN   A  COLT.  185 

is  excellent ;  but  no  amount  of  vital  energy  will  hold  a 
horse  up  through  the  wear  and  tear  of  a  four-mile  race. 
A  perfect  bone-structure  is  admirable;  but  what  are 
bones,  if  the  breathing-apparatus  is  inadequate?  The 
first  point,  therefore,  I  say,  that  a  breeder  or  owner  of  a 
likely  colt  should  consider,  is  this  matter  of  lung-devel- 
opment. The  great  question  with  him  should  be,  ''How 
can  I  expand  and  enlarge  his  lungs  ?  "  Still,  although 
every  reader  will  see  at  a  glance  the  vital  significance 
of  this  point,  it  is,  I  presume,  a  branch  of  horse-culture 
to  which  less  attention  is  paid  than  any  other.  You 
can  get  books  by  the  score  on  the  "Foot,"  on  the  "  Bone- 
Structure,"  on  "Muscular  Development,"  on  almost 
every  possible  subject,  relating  to  the  horse,  about 
which  a  book  could  be  made,  or  a  discussion  started ; 
but  when  you  go  to  the  bookseller's  to  inquire  for  books 
telling  you  how  to  build  up  the  lung-poioer  of  a  horse, 
you  can  find  no  such  book  for  sale!  Our  limits  do 
not  allow  us  to  treat  of  this  most  important  subject  at 
length ;  and  we  can  only  hope  to  call  attention  to  it,  and 
make,  in  a  plain,  simple  way,  a  few  suggestions  which 
may  prove  of  value  to  the  breeder  and  trainer. 

To  begin  with,  then,  let  it  be  remarked  that  colts 
need  a  great  deal  of  exercise.  By  nature  they  were 
made  for  rapid  movement.  Like  young  birds,  they 
develop  in  motion.  The  number  of  miles  a  colt  of  high 
breeding,  and  in  good  condition,  will  go  when  at  pas- 
ture each  day,  is  something  surprising.  I  will  not 
mention  my  estimate,  because  no  one  would  believe  it 


186  THE   PERFECT    HORSE. 

to  be  correct  :  and  I  only  ask  you  to  watcli  a  colt 
twenty-four  hours,  and  make  your  own  estimate ;  and, 
if  you  are  not  astonished,  I  shall  be.  Now,  no  sensible 
man  will  turn  a  colt  of  fine  promise  loose  in  the  pasture 
after  the  second  year ;  and  I  do  not  after  the  first.  A 
valuable  colt  is  too  valuable  to  risk  in  that  foolish  man- 
ner, especially  if  he  is  a  horse-colt.  He  should  be 
kept  in  a  large,  roomy  stall,  where  he  can  be  attended 
to  and  trained  day  by  day.  But  do  not  forget  his 
need  of  daily  exercise.  Do  not  think  that  a  box-stall 
will  suffice.  You  might  as  well  teach  an  eaglet  to  fly 
in  a  large  cage  as  to  give  the  needed  discipline  to  a 
colt's  legs,  heart,  and  lungs  in  a  box-stall.  Many 
most  promising  youngsters  are  fatally  checked  in 
the  development  of  their  powers  by  lack  of  needed 
exercise  in  their  second  and  third  years.  I  hold  that 
a  colt  needs  a  great  deal  of  exercise;  not  to  the 
halter,  which  is  good  for  nothing  but  to  sweat  out  a 
lazy  groom,  but  sharp,  quick  exercise,  in  the  taking 
of  which  every  muscle  is  brought  into  play,  every  joint 
tested,  and  every  vein,  however  small,  swelled  taut  with 
rapid  blood,  as  is  the  case  when  allowed  the  liberty 
of  hill  and  plain,  and  to  follow  the  promptings  of 
nature.  Ah,  me !  how  full  of  bounding  life  the 
youngsters  are,  when  in  a  drove  of  twenty,  heads  up- 
lifted and  tails  erect,  their  long  hair  streaming  straight 
out  behind,  they  charge  in  thundering  column  across 
the  shaking  field !  See  how  they  tear  along  with  hoofs 
that  spurn  the  plain,  with  changeful  gait,  and  action  free 


HOW  TO  TRAIN  A  COLT.  18T 

and  swift  as  a  swallow's  !  See  that  sorrel  trot !  Look 
at  liis  stride  !  How  he  opens  out !  Ha !  did  you  see  the 
chestnut  catch  his  step?  Good  heavens!  how  that 
brown  one  runs !  Ho!  here,  boys;  here!  Now  look  and 
see  them  come  strung  out  in  line,  heads  towards  us,  ears 
pricked,  and  eyes  on  fire!  Hi,  there!  hi,  there!  Now 
see  them  swoop  to  the  left,  and  go  tearing  away  like 
mad,  muzzles  straight  out,  and  ears  laid  back,  until  they 
pass  the  ridge,  and  the  valley  catches  them  from  our 
sight!  Circus!  — there  never  was  such  a  circus  as  that! 
It's  enough  to  stir  the  blood  in  the  veins  of  a  deacon ! 

It  is  the  exercise-lot,  and  the  exercise-lot  alone,  that 
can  take  the  place  and  make  good  the  absence  of  na- 
ture's liberty.  In  it  the  colt  can  run  and  jump  and 
race,  and  double  this  way  and  that,  and  check  himself, 
as  only  a  colt  can  when  in  full  career,  to  his  heart's 
content.  Every  owner  of  a  colt  should  have  an  exer- 
K3ise-lot.  It  costs  little  to  make  one,  and  will  pay  for 
itself  fifty  times  over  in  two  years.  Let  it  be  from  ten 
to  fifteen  rods  long,  and  from  eight  to  ten  rods  wide. 
The  ground  should  be  level,  ploughed,  and  raked  free 
of  cobbles.  It  should  be  fenced  with  boards  not  wider 
than  two  inches  apart,  and  at  least  seven  feet  in  height. 
The  posts  should  be  on  the  outer  side,  so  that  the  in- 
side may  be  flush,  with  no  projection  against  which  the 
colt  can  strike.  Take  a  shovel,  and  heave  up  a  slight 
bank  around  the  inner  side,  like  to  what  the  ring-master 
of  the  circus  does,  that  his  horses  may  get  a  foot-support 
as  they  circle  round.     Now  build  you  a  raised  platform 


188  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

at  one  end  of  the  ground,  outside  the  fence,  for  your 
visitors  to  occupy  during  the  exhibition,  and  your  job 
is  done.  When  you  have  such  an  exercise-ground 
on  your  place,  you  have  added  a  most  valuable  posses- 
sion to  your  property.  If  you  have  colts  to  sell,  such 
an  exercise-ground  is  indispensable.  It  will  enable  you 
to  get  at  least  twenty  per  cent  more  for  your  stock,  and 
sell  them  several  years  sooner,  because  purchasers  in 
search  of  likely  young  horses  can  see,  the  first  time  a 
colt  goes  around  the  yard,  about  what  he  is.  His 
action,  which  could  in  no  other  way  be  shown  so  Avell, 
is  seen ;  and  a  bid  is  at  once  made  on  him.  With  good 
stock,  and  a  good  exercise-lot  in  which  to  exhibit  them, 
a  breeder's  stable  will  never  be  choked  up  with  unsold 
stuff ;  nor  will  his  purse  ever  be  empty. 

But  the  exercise-ground  has  a  higher  use   than  this. 
In  every  stable  are  several  colts  too  good  to  sell  as  year- 
lings.    Their  pedigree  and  promise  give  them  a  specu- 
lative and  prospective  value  so  great,  that  the  breeder 
or  owner  cannot  aJBTord  to  sell  them  until  they  are  more 
developed ;  because  the   prospect  is,  that,  when  devel- 
oped, they  will  reach  a  much  more  remunerative  figure. 
Now,  these  are  the  colts  for  which  the   exercise-lot  is 
peculiarly  adapted :  indeed,  it  is  indispensable  to  their 
'  welfare.     They  are  too  valuable  to   turn  out  with  the 
drove;    they  are    too  valuable  to  sell:    wisdom   says, 
''Keep  them  awhile  longer,  and  develop  them."     But 
this  development  can  only  come  by  exercise,  and  that 
kind  and  class  of  exercise  which  can  be  had  nowhere 


HOW  TO  TRAIN   A   COLT.  189 

save  in  the  exercise-lot.  The  reason  is,  that  in  no  other 
place  can  they  get  that  rapidity  and  variety  of  movement 
absolutely  indispensable  to  their  growth,  health,  and 
vigor.  The  first  thing,  as  I  have  said,  to  which  to  pay 
attention,  is  the  development  of  the  lungs.  The 
lungs  must,  in  the  first  place,  be  built  up  in  size. 
The  larger  the  bellows,  the  stronger  the  blast.  Large 
lungs  —  as  large  as  nature  can  be  made  to  grow  —  is 
what  every  horse  kept  for  speed  wants.  Secondly, 
the  lungs  must  be  of  fine  texture.  The  \mig-sub- 
stance  must  be  of  excellent  quality,  — elastic  and  tough ; 
able  to  bear  the  strain  of  inflation  and  the  shock 
of  collapse  without  pain  or  injury  when  the  horse,  on 
a  hot,  muggy  day,  comes  struggling  to  the  judges' 
stand  with  the  driver's  voice  in  his  ear,  and  the  driver's 
whip  laid  at  every  stride  across  his  rump.  It  is  lungs  that 
win  on  such  a  day  and  race.  Bone-structure  won't  do 
it ;  muscles  won't  do  it ;  nervous  energy  won't  do  it : 
lungs,  and  lungs  alone,  win  in  such  contests.  If  you 
would  realize  the  force  of  this,  try  a  short  race  yourself 
Start  off  and  run  forty  or  sixty  rods  even  at  your 
sharpest  jump:  very  likely,  before  you  have  gone  half 
that  distance,  you  will  begin  to  discover  where  your 
lungs  lie,  and  the  value  of  ivind.  Now,  what  was  it  that 
gave  out,  and  made  you  stop  so  suddenly  ?  "  Pain 
in  my  side,  shortness  of  breath,"  you  reply.  Exactly. 
Your  leg-bones  were  all  right ;  your  feet  didn't  pain 
you ;  your  muscles  could  have  carried  you  forward 
a  mile ;   your  determination  was  strong  enough :    but 


190  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

your  wind  gave  out  You  see  now  the  relation  of 
lungs  to  speed.  Now,  reader,  I  put  the  question  to  you, 
If  you  have  a  fine  colt,  what  are  you  striving  to  do  with 
him?  Ten  to  one  your  anxiety  is  to  build  up  his  bone- 
substance,  develop  his  muscles,  restrain  his  nervousness, 
educate  him  to  go  squarely,  keep  his  blood  in  a  good 
condition.  All  these  points  you  have  paid  the  closest 
attention  to;  but  the  lungs  —  the  most  essential  of  all 
organs,  able  to  contribute  most  to  your  success  in  the 
hour  of  trial  —  you  have  left  to  take  care  of  themselves. 
''What  can  I  do?"  you  inquire.  This,  in  the  first  place, 
I  reply  :  See  that  your  horse  or  colt  has  plenty  of  pure, 
fresh,  unhreathed  air.  A  well-ventilated  stable,  where 
the  horse  has  plenty  of  air  that  no  other  animal's  breath 
has  tainted,  is  the  first  essential.  Foul  air  means  foul 
blood ;  and  foul  blood  means  diseased  lung-substance. 
If  your  colt's  blood  is  diseased,  his  lungs  are  being  built 
up  with  diseased  substance,  like  as  when  a  wall  is  built 
of  rotten  bricks.  If,  now,  your  colt  is  in  good  health, 
and  has  a  stall  well  ventilated,  and  is  exercised  to  the 
halter  every  day,  you  think  all  is  being  done  that  need 
be  or  can  be;  but  you  are  greatly  mistaken.  Such 
treatment  will  keep  him  in  good  health,  and  an  average 
lung-growth:  but  for  speed  you  must  have  more  than 
this  ;  you  need  extraordinary  lung-development.  And 
how,  pray,  can  we  obtain  this  extraordinary  lung- 
development  ?  In  this  way,  and  in  this  way  alone  :  By 
putting  the  colt  at  least  two  or  three  times  each  iveeh  to 
the  top  of  his  speed  in  the  exercise-lot.     Not  until  his 


HOW  TO   TRAIN  A   COLT.  191 

blood  is  heated  somewhat,  and  lungs  and  heart  have 
begun  to  work  under  pressure,  is  either  the  blood  or 
wind  sent  fiist  and  forcefully  enough  into  and  through 
the  venous  system  of  the  lungs  to  fairly  expand  them. 
The  lung-substance,  as  you  know,  is  full  of  veins,  — 
minute  blood-ducts ;  and  the  action  of  the  heart,  when 
the  colt  is  merely  jogged  about,  is  not  strong  and  rapid 
enough  to  send  the  blood  through  these  in  the  way  in 
which  it  must  be  sent  in  order  to  strengthen  and  build 
them  up.  Moreover,  in  order  to  enlarge  and  develop 
the  lungs,  they  must  be  distended,  —  distended  ilior- 
ouglily,  to  the  extremity  of  every  little  air-passage :  and, 
to  do  this,  the  inhalation  on  the  part  of  the  colt  must  be 
sudden  and  strong ;  which,  of  course,  cannot  be  unless 
the  colt  is  put  through  a  course  of  sharp  exercise. 
You  will  observe  that  my  plan  is  only  Nature's  plan,  the 
location  of  the  exercise  being  changed.  Nature  exer- 
cises her  colts  in  the  field:  she  sends  them  tearing 
through  bushes,  and  jumping  brooks  and  bowlders,  and 
racing  over  hillocks ;  nor  will  she  let  them  halt  until 
their  necks  are  moist,  their  nostrils  distended  to  their 
utmost  capacity,  and  their  flanks  all  a-quiver.  I  accept 
the  hint ;  and  standing  in  the  centre  of  the  exercise-lot, 
whip  in  hand,  my  groom  sends  my  favorite  colt  around 
time  and  again,  time  and  again,  —  now  at  a  trot,  now  at 
his  keenest  jump, — until  his  nostrils  show  their  red,  his 
neck  moistens,  and  his  ribs  stand  out  to  sight  as  lifted 
by  every  inflation  of  the  lung.  This,  remember,  is  done 
day  by  day,  month  in  and  out,  the  year  round.     It  is 


192  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

this  steady,  persisted-in  exercise  touching  any  organ  that 
gives  to  it,  in  the  end,  its  highest  possible  development. 
Those  who  think  that  they  can  develop  a  horse's  wind 
in  two  or  three  months  are  greatly  mistaken.  Lungs, 
like  ships,  are  not  built  in  a  day :  they  cannot  be  put 
into  a  horse  a  month  before  the  expected  race.  They 
must  he  grown  up  in  the  liorse^  beginning  at  the  day 
he  is  able  to  trot  by  the  dam's  side;  and  they  can 
only  be  grown  in  the  manner  I  have  pointed  out. 

In  conjunction  with  the  exercise-lot,  and  alternating 
with  it,  if  convenient,  comes  jogging  on  the  road  or 
around  the  track.  Some  people  say,  "  Never  drive  nor 
harness  a  colt  before  he  is  five  years  old."  This  is  sheer 
nonsense.  The  natural  state  is  not  the  best  state,  neces- 
sarily, to  an  animal  so  highly  organized  as  the  horse. 
Dio  Lewis  will  take  a  boy  and  train  him,  so  that,  at 
twelve  years  of  age,  he  will  lift  twice  as  much  as  any 
Indian  lad  of  that  age  who  ever  lived.  For  the  pur- 
poses of  nature.  Nature  is  perfect  in  her  educational 
processes ;  but,  for  the  purposes  of  man,  man  is  the 
better  disciplinarian.  A  colt,  if  he  be  well  formed  and 
of  average  size,  should  be  driven  from  five  to  ten  miles 
to  a  light  hitch-up  twice  a  week  at  least,  and  be  allowed 
to  "  strip  out "  once  or  twice  every  drive  for  a  quar- 
ter of  a  mile,  too,  at  that.  Colts  are  made  to  go  j  and 
going  does  not  hurt  them,  as  any  one  can  see  who 
watches  them  in  the  pasture.  It  does  not  hurt  a  colt  to 
^'^wjf "  and  ^^  siueat;^^  but,  on  the  other  hand,  this  swift 
and  hot  lung-and-heart  action  is  just  what  his  system 


HOW  TO   TRAIN  A  COLT.  193 

needs  for  its  development.  I  would  not  say  a  word  to 
encourage  any  to  overdrive  colts ;  for  I  hold  that  such 
conduct  is  criminal :  but  I  believe,  that,  where  one  colt 
is  crippled  by  over-exercise,  fifty  in  the  country  are 
being  crippled  by  constrained  idleness.  Give  your 
colt,  friend,  plenty  of  oats  and  hay  and  pure  water, 
and  fresh  air  in  his  stall,  and  plenty  of  exercise  in  the 
exercise-lot  and  on  the  road,  and  you  will  have  an  ani- 
mal, when  he  is  matured,  able  to  go  fast  and  go  far,  and 
pull  weight,  without  giving  out,  either:  and  if  you 
should  ever  enter  him  in  competition  with  another 
horse  of  equal  speed  by  nature,  but  educated  in  the 
old  approved  style  of  being  babied  in  a  box-stall  until 
he  was  put  into  actual  training,  you  will  see  your  horse 
trotting  under  the  wire  with  ears  pricked,  and  unlabored 
action  ;  while  your  rival's  nag  is  straining  and  blow- 
ing, in  vain  but  frantic  effort,  half  way  down  the  stretch 
toward  the  distance-post.  Whatever  else  you  neglect 
in  the  education  and  training  of  your  colt,  reader,  do 
not  neglect  the  development  of  his  lungs.  No  matter 
what  theory  of  development  you  adopt :  have  a  theory ; 
for  this  implies  thought  on  your  part  touching  the  mat- 
ter ;  and  the  trouble  now  is,  very  likely,  that  you  have 
never  given  any  thought  to  it  at  all. 

Next  to  the  development  of  lung-power,  stands,  as  I 
judge,  in  importance,  the  development  of  muscular 
power ;  and  to  this  we  will  now  turn  our  attention. 

The  muscles  which  need  especial  development  are 
those  of  the  haunches,  or  thighs,  and  hach.     The  former 

13 


194  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

do  not  suffer  from  lack  of  treatment ;  but  the  latter  do. 
It  is  not  leg-power  so  much  as  back-power  a  horse 
needs  in  order  to  pull  weight  and  project  himself  rapid- 
ly through  the  air.  The  muscles  that  are  located  over 
the  loins,  and  run  forward  like  great  pulleys  along 
either  side  of  the  spinal  column,  as  you  can  see  if  you 
will  watch  a  horse  in  action,  are  the  ones  relied  on  by 
nature  to  do  much  of  the  work  required.  Hence  a 
long-backed  horse  must  be  exceedingly  strong  in  the 
muscular  formation  at  these  points,  or  he  is  sure  to  give 
out  when  the  tug  comes.  How  to  strengthen  the  mus- 
cles of  the  back  and  loins  is,  therefore,  a  question  worthy 
of  the  breeder's  and  trainer's  closest  attention.  In  the 
human  system  this  is  done  by  lifting  weights,  and  climb- 
ing hills,  and  carrying  burdens.  Every  one  knows  what 
enormous  burdens  the  porters  of  the  East  will  walk  off 
under  with  ease, — burdens  which  an  American  could 
barely  lift,  much  less  shoulder.  Well,  how  do  they  get 
this  power  ?  The  answer  is  found  in  their  habit  of  life 
and  labor.  From  boyhood  they  are  porters,  weight- 
carriers.  Every  day  adds  a  pound  to  their  weight- 
carrying  capacity ;  and  thus  nature  is  developed  to  an 
extent  which  seems  marvellous  to  us,  unused  to  such 
exercise  and  labor.  Well,  muscles  and  bones  are  the 
same  everywhere,  —  the  same  in  the  horse  as  in  the  man ; 
and  if  man,  by  certain  practice,  and  exercise  at  Aveight- 
carrying,  can  develop  the  muscles  of  his  back  and  loins 
so  that  his  natural  capacity  can  be  more  than  doubled, 
why  can  we  not  develop  the  back  and  loin  power  of 


HOW  TO  TRAIN   A  COLT.  195 

our  colts  in  like  manner,  and  to  the  same  extent?  I 
hold,  therefore,  that  the  muscles  of  a  colt's  back  and 
loins  can  be  easily  and  greatly  developed  by  the  impo- 
sition of  weight ;  beginning,  say,  when  he  is  two  years 
of  age,  and  continuing  the  practice  until  maturity. 
Many  horses  naturally  somewhat  weak  at  these  points 
could  be  brought,  in  a  few  years,  to  be  above  the 
average  capacity  by  a  judicious  treatment  of  weighting. 
So  far  as  I  have  experimented  in  this  direction,  the  re- 
sult has  been  eminently  successful, —  precisely  what  one 
would  expect,  from  the  circumstances  of  the  case,  it 
would  be.  This  I  know,  that,  even  in  a  few  months, 
the  muscles  of  the  back  and  loins  can  be  enlarged  and 
brought  out,  so  that  the  improvement  in  the  steadi- 
ness of  the  animal's  gait,  and  his  power  to  stride,  are 
perceptible  even  to  the  driver's  eye. 

Many  horses  "  tangle  up,"  and  go  to  pieces,  because 
the  muscles  of  the  back  are  too  weak  to  put  the  neces- 
sary control  upon  the  framework  and  the  legs.  Every 
horse  "breaks"  in  the  back  before  he  "breaks"  in  the 
leg;  that  is,  the  unsteadiness  of  motion  —  which,  when 
it  has  passed  a  certain  limit,  is  communicated  to  his  legs, 
causing  him  to  change  his  gait  from  a  trot  into  a  run,  in 
order  to  save  his  balance  —  begins  in  the  back.  As  long 
as  a  horse  can  keep  his  back-bone  in  a  straight  line,  he 
is  all  right.  His  loss  of  control  over  himself  springs 
from  a  muscular  weakness  at  that  point.  One  reason 
why  a  horse  should  never  be  pulled  so  that  he  is 
doubled  up,  is  because,  when  so  doubled  up,  he  cannot 


196  THE  PERFECT  HORSE. 

keep  the  spinal  column  —  which  is  to  the  framework 
of  the  horse  what  the  keel  is  to  the  framework  of  a 
ship  —  straight.  Some  say,  indeed  most  say, .  when 
driving  a  race,  watch  your  horse's  head  for  the  first 
signs  of  unsteadiness.  Hiram  Woodruff  said,  that,  in  the 
action  of  the  head,  the  driver  could  see  the  first  pre- 
monitions of  a  break.  Against  such  authority  I  would 
not  set  any  opinion  of  my  own,  save  in  the  way  of  sug- 
gestion. But  while  Woodruff  may  be  right,  and  un- 
doubtedly is  right,  in  many,  perhaps  the  majority  of 
cases,  I  am,  on  the  other  hand,  confident,  that,  in  some 
horses,  the  signs  of  the  coming  break  can  be  quickest 
perceived  in  the  action  of  the  spinal  column.  My  habit 
is  to  watch  the  horse's  back  :  so  long  as  that  is  straight, 
well-steadied,  the  action  of  the  back-muscles  regular 
and  in  a  straight  line,  I  keep  sending  the  horse  along. 
Only  when  a  slight  quiver  or  twist,  a  kind  of  kinking-up 
or  swaying  motion,  is  seen  in  the  back,  do  I  take  him 
more  firmly  in  hand,  and  steady  him  until  he  has  time 
to  straighten  himself  out  again.  The  advantage  of 
watching  the  line  of  the  back,  instead  of  the  head,  of 
a  horse,  to  perceive  the  signs  of  the  coming  break,  is 
found,  as  it  seems  to  me,  in  this :  The  head  sign  is  not 
the  same  in  all  horses ;  nor  is  it  so  unmistakable  to  the 
eye,  — unless  you  have  driven  the  horse  enough  to  become 
acquainted  with  his  peculiar  habit  of  going,  — and  there- 
fore not  so  much  to  be  depended  upon,  nor  so  easily 
discerned,  as  the  vibratory  movement  of  the  spinal 
column,  which,  while  it  invariably  precedes  the  "  tan- 


HOW   TO   TRAIN   A   COLT.  197 

gling  up,"  can  be  easily  perceived  by  tlie  merest  novice. 
But  we  were  speaking  as  to  how  to  strengthen  the  back, 
rather  than  how  to  watch  it  give  forth  the  signs  of 
unsteadiness ;  and  to  this  point  let  us  now  return. 

We  have  discussed  the  influence  of  weights  in  de- 
veloping the  muscles  of  the  loin  and  back.  We  would 
now  allude,  briefly,  to  what  might  be  called  the  in- 
fluence of  up-hill  exercise  ;  by  which  I  mean  the  trot- 
ting and  running  of  colts  or  the  horse,  under  training, 
up  sharp  declivities.  This  is  Nature's  method  of 
development.  Running  through  all  her  educational 
processes,  you  find  the  element  of  opposition.  She 
makes  her  birds  to  fly  against  currents  of  air  as  often  as 
with  them.  Her  fishes  must  contend  with  tides  and  the 
swift  opposition  of  rapids ;  while  the  noblest  of  the 
species  must  practise  their  powers,  often  for  days  at  a 
time,  in  vain,  in  the  spirited  attempt  to  jump  the  oppos- 
ing waterfall.  Surely  we  can  discern  the  wisdom  of 
this  arrangement ;  for  we  can  see  that  only  by  such  a 
process  can  the  highest  structural  development  be 
attained.  Turning  now  from  theory  and  analogy  to 
observation  of  data^  this  we  know,  —  that  horses  raised 
in  mountainous  districts  and  hilly  sections  have  better 
lung-development,  and  are  stronger  in  the  loins  and 
back,  than  those  raised  in  the  flat  meadows  of  the  low- 
lands. The  character  of  the  atmosphere  may,  in  part, 
account  for  the  improvement  in  the  lung-structure  ;  but 
nothing  save  the  fact,  that  horses  raised  in  such 
localities   are   compelled,    by   the   necessities   of  their 


198  THE   PERFECT   HORSE. 

situation,  to  jump  streams,   and    climb    hills,    can   ex- 
plain the  increased  power  of  their  loin  and  back. 

The  Morgan  horse  is  a  wonderful  illustration  of  this. 
Such  a  weight-puller,  when  you  consider  his  size,  cer- 
tainly was  never  seen  in  America,  and,  so  far  as  we 
know,  never  seen  in  the  world.  And  to-day  a  colt 
raised  in  Vermont,  or  the  mountainous  sections  of  New 
Hampshire  and  New  York,  is  almost  invariably  coupled, 
at  the  junction  of  the  spinal  column  with  the  hip-bones, 
like  a  giant.  Analogy  and  observation  alike  suggest 
to  the  breeder  and  trainer  that  every  young  horse 
should  be  put  through  a  certain  amount  of  up-hill  exer- 
cise. Do  not  trot  your  colts  alone  on  the  level  stretch ; 
above  all,  avoid  the  descending  grade.  Practise  him  in 
the  other  direction ;  and  especially,  when  you  come  to 
a  hill,  let  him  take  it  at  the  jump.  For  one,  I  am  free 
to  say  I  prefer  that  my  colts  should  be  driven,  while 
being  developed,  along  a  road  with  a  great  many  hills 
in  it.  How  often  you  see  horses,  when  trotting  a  race 
on  a  track  that  is  not  perfectly  level,  falter  in  their  gait 
when  taking  the  rising  stretch,  lose  the  strength  and 
steadiness  of  their  stroke,  and  drop  behind!  They 
could  trot,  you  see,  down  a  descending  grade;  they 
could  move  fast,  even  on  level  ground:  but  they  were 
too  weak  in  the  back  and  loins  to  force  themselves  up 
the  ascent.  Had  they  been  properly  trained,  and  es- 
pecial care  been  exercised  to  develop  them  at  the 
desired  point,  they  would  have  kept  their  length  of 
stride  and  powerful  stroke  from   bottom  to  top,  and 


now  TO  TRAIN  A  COLT.  199 

come  in  the  winner,  instead  of  being  disgracefully- 
beaten.  And  yet  the  fault  was  more  with  the  trainer 
than  with  the  horse ;  because  the  horse  could  not  reason, 
while  the  trainer's  business  is  to  think,  and  think  for 
the  horse,  not  only  during  the  few  moments  of  the 
race,  but  during  all  the  months,  and  years  even,  that 
precede  it.  And  here  I  wish  to  call  the  reader's  atten- 
tention  to  the  influence  of  slow  exercise  in  connection 
with  weight-pulling.  Good  steady  team-work,  such  as 
a  horse  finds  in  ordinary  farm-labor,  is,  in  my  estimation, 
one  of  the  best  methods  that  can  be  adopted  to  de- 
velop many  horses  in  muscular  strength.  Horses  that 
are  narrow  in  the  chest,  and  weak  in  the  back,  are  es- 
pecially benefited  in  this  way.  Many  colts  that  cannot 
command  their  legs,  that  hit  their  knees,  "grab  over," 
"hitch,"  and  the  like,  if  put  to  team-service  for  a  year 
or  two,  will  come  out  of  the  discipline  in  splendid 
health  and  condition,  and  able  to  go  fast  without  hitting 
a  hair.  This  I  know  from  actual  experience.  A  great 
many  colts  are  being  trained  on  race-courses  to-day, 
at  great  expense  to  their  owners,  and  risks  to  them- 
selves, in  reference  to  which  it  may  be  said,  that  it 
would  be  vastly  better  for  all  concerned  if  they  were 
taken  from  the  track,  and  given  to  some  old  farmer  to 
use  on  his  farm  for  two  or  three  years.  In  that  time 
their  frames  would  spread,  their  chests  expand,  their 
bones  harden,  their  muscles  enlarge,  and  they  would 
escape  the  fate  which  now  awaits  them,  —  a  premature 
break-down   and   an    early   death.     I   hold   that   slow 


200  THE  PERFECT  HORSE. 

work  for  some  colts  is  the  only  work  which  they  can 
stand  with  safety,  and  therefore  the  only  work  to  which 
they  should  be  put.  It  is  the  best  way,  only  because 
it  is  the  only  way.  It  is  to  correct  faults  of  formation, 
rather  than  to  develop  perfect  formation.  This  distinc- 
tion being  understood,  I  give  it  my  hearty  indorse- 
ment. 

We  have  now  progressed  so  far  in  our  discussion 
touching  the  best  way  to  develop  the  natural  capacity 
of  the  colt,  in  order  that  he  may  go  fast  and  far,  that 
the  matter  of  driving  must  be  noticed;  and  we  will 
proceed  to  consider  it.  I  do  not  write  with  the  pro- 
fessional's knowledge  or  practical  experience  in  racing, 
nor,  indeed,  from  the  professional's  stand-point,  The 
object  of  this  book,  so  far  as  I  am  connected  with  it,  is 
not  to  attempt  to  teach  professionals  in  their  especial 
branch  of  business,  of  which  I  know  nothing,  but  to 
make  certain  suggestions,  based  in  part  on  the  opinions 
of  other  men,  and  in  part  upon  my  own  study  and  ob- 
servation of  the  horse  when  in  action,  as  driven  by 
gentlemen  on  the  road,  or  at  our  annual  fairs.  In  many 
respects  it  is  more  difficult  to  drive  a  young  and  un- 
trained horse  well  upon  the  road  —  requiring  greater 
quickness  of  the  eye  and  hand,  and  finer  control  over 
one's  self — than  to"  drive  trained  animals  on  a  smooth 
level  track  in  the  public  race.  Especially  does  it 
require  intelligence  and  a  goodly  degree  of  skill  to 
drive  a  colt  in  such  a  way  as  to  prevent  him  from 
acquiring  vicious  habits  of  going,  and  to  confii'm  him  in 


HOW  TO   TRAIN  A   COLT.  201 

the  practice  of  good  ones.     And  it  is  with  the  driving 
of  colts  that  we  will  begin. 

We  will  suppose  that  your  colt  is  so  far  familiar  with 
the  harness  and  wagon,  that  it  is  safe  to  drive  him  on 
the  public  highway.  In  the  first  place,  avoid  driving  a 
colt  in  a  two-wheeled  sulky.  No  matter  how  well  it  is 
balanced,  the  pressure  on  his  back  will  be  variable ;  and 
before  you  are  aware,  by  the  spring  of  the  shafts  up  and 
down,  unsteadiness  of  gait  will  be  the  result.  A  four- 
wheeled  wagon,  light  as  circumstances  will  permit,  is 
far  preferable.  In  such  a  vehicle  his  stride  will  be 
steadier,  and  his  confidence  in  himself  far  greater. 
Another  great  advantage  is  found  in  the  fact,  that,  in  a 
four-wheeled  vehicle,  you  are  seated  so  far  back,  that 
you  can  watch  the  movements  of  his  limbs,  and  observe 
whatever  is  wrong  in  their  action.  This  is  a  source  of 
great  satisfaction  to  a  driver.  The  first  lesson  to  incul- 
cate in  your  colt  is,  that  he  is  to  start  off  slowly.  For 
the  first  quarter  of  a  mile,  let  him  walk.  It  is  well  to 
have  him  start  into  a  trot  of  his  own  accord.  This  a 
sprightly  colt  will  naturally  do ;  and  his  gait  will  soon 
become,  without  his  being  urged,  fast  enough  for  the 
road.  If  he  is  two  years  of  age,  you  can  jog  him  from 
four  to  ten  miles  three  times  a  week  for  the  first  month, 
with  decided  benefit  to  him.  This  distance  is  sufficient 
to  take  the  friskiness  out  of  him,  and  make  him  under- 
stand that  it  means  business.  Some  advocate  only  two 
or  three  miles  every  day  ;  but  I  think  that  a  longer  dis- 
tance, with  a  day  of  rest  between  the  exercises,  is  far 


202  THE  PERFECT   HOKSB. 

preferable.     After  the  first  month,  you   can  begin  to 
let  him  out  a  little.     Yery  likely,  before  this,  he  has 
begun  to  get  an  inkling  of  his  powers,  and  showed  a 
disposition  to  avail  himself  of  the  smooth  stretches  in 
the   road.      For    such    manifestations   you   have   been 
anxiously  looking ;  and  their  coming  is  a  delight  to  your 
soul.     It  is  the  sure  evidence  that  your  colt  has  "  got  it 
in  him ; "  and  that,  with  proper  education,  he  is  bound  to 
be  a  trotter.     Now  select  your  nicest  bit  of  ground, 
straight  and  level  as  may  be,  not  more  than  fifty  rods 
in  length,  at  least  two  miles  from  your  stable,  so  that, 
by  the  time  he  reaches  it,  the  effervescence  of  his  spirits 
has  worked  itself  out ;  and  when  you  have  come  to  it, 
and  he  begins  to  lift  his  head,  and  feel  of  the  bit  with 
his  tongue,  —  which  he  is  pretty  sure  to  do,  —  do  not 
restrain  him,  but  let  him  go  it.     Don't  say  any  thing  to 
him.     It  is  his  affair,  remember;  and  let  him  enjoy  it 
undisturbed.     Simply  steady  him  slightly  with  the  lines ; 
and  after  he  has  gone  what  you  regard  as  a  sufficient  dis- 
tance, and  while  he  is  in  full  blast,  and  eager  as  a  young 
hound  on  the  scent,  take  him  gently  in  hand,  and  slow 
him  up.     Now  is  your  time  to  praise  him.     Call  him  pet 
names ;  flatter  him ;  reach  over  and  pat  him  with  your 
hand.      Make   him   feel   that   he   has   done   something 
worthy,  and  that  you  are  proud  of  him.     Do  not  smile 
incredulously   as   you   read  this,  and  say  a  colt  can't 
understand  you.     A  colt  can  understand  you.     Among 
all  animals,  the  dog  only  is  more  susceptible  to  praise. 
If  you  have  the  right  stuff  in  you,  you  cannot  drive  a 


HOW   TO   TRAIN   A   COLT.  203 

colt  a  month  without  a  kind  of  half-human  intelligence 
springing  up  between  you  and  him.  He  will  recognize 
you  when  you  enter  his  stall.  He  will  grow  to  expect 
your  caress  when  you  mount  the  seat  and  take  the  lines. 
He  will  keep  an  ear  turned  as  you  jog,  to  catch  your 
lightest  word.  I  have  known  horses  neigh  back  an 
answer  when  their  driver  spoke  to  them.  It  is  a  great 
thing,  believe  me,  to  establish  this  understanding  be- 
tween you  and  your  colt.  With  this  spurt  be  content. 
Try  no  more  that  day.  Jog  him  through  his  journey, 
and  bring  him  home  to  his  stable  with  only  that  one 
memory  in  his  mind. 

Let  him  rest  a  day,  then  try  him  again.  Before  you 
get  within  fifty  rods  of  that  stretch  of  road,  you  will  find 
your  colt  anticipating  it.  I  have  no  doubt  but  that  he 
has  thought  it  all  over  in  his  stall,  and  made  up  his 
mind  how  he  would  strip  out  when  he  reached  that 
spot  again;  for  no  sooner  has  he  come  to  it,  than, 
without  a  word  from  you,  or  the  movement  of  a  line, 
he  will  begin  to  stir  the  bits  in  his  mouth,  lift  his  nose 
into  the  air,  elevate  his  tail  a  little,  and  go  at  it.  This 
is  the  way  that  a  colt  should  be  taught  to  trot.  It 
should  be  of  his  own  free  accord ;  the  mere  overflow- 
ing of  a  vitality  so  vigorous  and  buoyant,  that  it  can- 
not be  restrained.  An  old  horse  can  be  urged  with 
voice  and  whip,  if  need  be ;  but  let  your  colt  alone. 
Don't  urge  him:  make  haste  slowly  at  this  point.  It 
is  not  great  speed  that  you  want  now,  so  much  as  a 
desire  to  go,  and  a  correct  movement  of  the  hmbs. 


204  THE   PEKFECT   HOESE. 

Educate  him  in  the  desire,  and  confirm  him  in  regu- 
larity of  stroke,  and  the  speed  is  sure  to  follow  in  due 
time.  If  you  find  that  he  is  getting  a  little  sluggish 
in  his  movements,  let  him  rest:  hold  up  for  a  week. 
It  is  evident  that  he  is  being  overdone ;  and  to  overdo 
at  this  point  of  his  education,  will,  in  the  majority  of 
cases,  prove  fatal  to  the  colt's  promise  and  the  owner's 
hopes.  Another  sure  sign  that  you  are  exacting  too 
much  of  him  is  seen  when  he  begins  to  hitch  in  his 
gait.  This  hitching  comes  from  driving  too  fast  and 
too  far  ;  at  times  from  over-weighting  the  colt.  I  quote 
the  following  from  thatlnost  admirable  work  by  Hiram 
Woodruff,  "  The  Trotting-Horse  of  America."  Speaking 
of  this  matter  of  over-working,  he  says,  — 

"The  work  must  be  according  to  his  constitution,  to 
the  rate  of  his  growth,  and  to  his  heartiness  of  feeding. 
This  jogging  will  probably  be  about  five  or  six  miles  a 
day,  and  the  spurts  not  above  a  quarter  of  a  mile.  He 
must  be  carefully  watched  to  ascertain  whether  he  im- 
proves or  not.  If  not,  he  is  to  be  let  up  a  bit :  for  his 
improvement  at  this  age  ought  to  go  on  all  the  time; 
and  will,  if  he  is  all  right.  Rapid  improvement,  how- 
ever, must  not  be  expected :  ever  so  little  will  do ;  but 
it  ought  not  to  stop  altogether.  At  this  time,  you  will 
often  sec  him  break  his  gait ;  and  this  is  an  indication 
that  he  has  had  too  much  work  for  his  age,  and  has  got 
sore  on  it.  But  it  may  not  arise  altogether  from  over- 
work: therefore  put  the  rollers  on,  and  work  him 
gently,  changing    them    from   leg    to   leg   as  required. 


HOW  TO  TRAIN  A   COLT.  205 

The  colt  now  finds  something  on  his  legs,  besides  the 
boots,  which  was  not  there  before  ;  and  it  will  alter  his 
way  of  going.  He  must  be  nicely  handled  now.  You 
must  use  all  your  observation  and  best  judgment,  with 
a  light  but  firm  hold  of  the  reins.  In  all  probability, 
he  will  trot  square  again  with  the  rollers  on  ;  and,  as 
soon  as  he  does  so,  let  him  up  for  a  little  while.  When 
the  broken  gait  shows,  he  must  not  on  any  account  be 
kept  on  without  a  change  ;  for,  if  he  is,  it  may  become 
confirmed.  On  the  other  hand,  I  never  like  to  let  them 
up  until  I  have  got  them  to  trot  square  again  ;  for,  if  they 
are  so  let  up,  they  may  not  trot  square  again  when  their 
work  is  resumed." 

There  is  another  point  of  prime  importance  in  driving 
any  horse,  but  especially  a  young  one :  it  is  the  way  you 
handle  the  reins.  Most  drivers  overdrive.  They  at- 
tempt too  much ;  and,  in  so  doing,  distract  or  hamper 
the  horse.  Now  and  then  you  find  a  horse  with  such  a 
vicious  gait,  that  his  speed  is  got  from  him  by  the  most 
artificial  processes;  but  such  horses  are  fortunately  rare, 
and  hence  the  style  of  management  required  cannot 
become  general.  The  true  way  is  to  let  the  horse  drive 
himself,  the  driver  doing  little  but  directing  him,  and  giv- 
ing him  that  confidence  Avhich  a  horse  alone  gets  in  him- 
self when  he  feels  that  a  guide  and  friend  is  back  of  him. 
The  most  vicious  and  inexcusable  style  of  driving  is 
that  which  so  many  drivers  adopt;  viz.,  wrapping  the 
lines  around  either  hand,  and  pulling  the  horse  backward 
with  all  their  might  and  main,  so  that  the  horse,  in  point 


206  THE   PERFECT   HORSE. 

of  fact,  pulls  the  weight  back  of  him  with  his  mouth, 
and  not  with  his  breast  and  shoulders.  This  they  do 
under  the  impression  that  such  a  dead  pull  is  needed  in 
order  to  "steady  "  the  horse.  This  method  of  driving 
I  regard  as  radically  and  superlatively  wrong.  It 
would  tax  the  ingenuity  of  a  hundred  fools  to  invent  a 
worse  one.  The  fact  is,  with  rare  exceptions  there 
should  never  be  any  pull  put  upon  the  horse  at  all.  A 
steady  pressure  is  allowable,  probably  advisable  ;  but 
any  thing  beyond  this  has  no  justification  in  nature  or 
reason:  for  nature  suggests  the  utmost  possible  freedom 
of  action  of  head,  body,  and  limbs,  in  order  that  the 
animal  may  attain  the  highest  rate  of  speed ;  and  reason 
certainly  forbids  the  supposition,  that  by  the  bits,  and 
not  the  breast-collar,  the  horse  is  to  draw  the  weight 
attached  to  it.  In  speeding  my  horses,  I  very  seldom 
grasp  the  lines  with  both  hands  when  the  road  is 
straicrht,  and  free  from  obstructions.  The  lines  are 
rarely  steadily  taut,'  but  held  in  easy  pliancy,  and 
used  chiefly  to  shift  the  bit  in  the  animal's  mouth,  and 
by  this  motion  communicate  courage  and  confidence 
to  him.  I  find,  that,  by  this  method,  my  horses  break 
less,  and  go  much  faster,  than  when  driven  by  men  who 
put  the  old-fashioned  steady  pull  upon  them.  I  know 
of  no  writer'who  expresses  my  ideas,  in  the  main,  so 
accurately  as  the  writer  whom  I  have  just  quoted  :  — 

''  In  all  his  work,  the  colt  is  to  be  taught  to  go  along 
without  being  pulled  hard.  His  mouth  may  be  easily 
spoiled  for  life  by  teaching  him  to  tug  at  the  bit  now ; 


HOW  TO  TRAIN  A  COLT.  207 

and  he  is  not  at  all  likely  to  make  a  fast  trotter,  if  to 
trot  he  must  always  have  his  weight  upon  the  driver's 
arms.  There  have  been  some  fast  trotters  and  stayers 
that  were  hard  pullers ;  but  they  would  have  been 
better  horses  but  for  that  fact.  Still  it  is  to  be  remem- 
bered, that,  when  going  fast,  the  colt  or  horse  will  often 
want  to  get  his  head  down,  and  feel  the  bit  sensibly. 
He  will  not,  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten  (or  can  not,  which 
comes  to  the  same  thing),  do  his  best  without  it.  The 
object  of  the  driver  should  then  be  to  support  him  with 
as  little  pull  as  possible,  but  still  to  support  him.  The 
horse  with  a  good  mouth  will  always  feel  the  di'iver's 
hand ;  and,  when  the  latter  is  as  skilful  as  he  ought  to 
be  for  the  handling  of  the  first-rate  fast  trotter,  he  may 
play  upon  the  rein  with  a  touch  like  that  of  a  harper 
upon  the  strings,  and  the  horse  will  answer  every  touch 
with  the  music  of  the  feet  and  wheels. 

''  On  the  other  hand,  if,  when  the  colt  takes  hold  of 
the  bit,  the  driver  does  nothing  but  hold  on  like  grim 
death  to  a  dead  darky,  it  soon  becomes  a  pulling- 
match  between  them :  and  before  the  colt  is  of  age  to 
trot  fast,  and  stay  a  distance,  his  pulling  has  become 
a  vice  of  the  most  troublesome  and  mischievous  de- 
scription ;  his  mouth  has  become  so  callous,  that  he 
pulls  a  wagon  and  driver  along  by  the  reins  instead  of 
the  traces;  and,  by  the  dead  drag  between  him  and  the 
man  behind  him,  he  loses  a  great  deal  of  the  power 
that  will  be  wanted  to  sustain  him  when  the  pinch 
comes." 


208  THE  PERFECT  HORSE. 

This  point  is  put  j)lainlj  and  eloquently,  and,  coming 
from  the  greatest  master  of  driving  the  trotting-horse 
America  has  ever  had,  is  to  be  accepted,  and  will  be  by 
sensible  people,  as  a  law  not  to  be  violated.  This  pidl- 
ing  style  of  driving  not  only  mars  a  horse's  action,  but 
converts  a  pleasure  into  a  toil.  To  draw  a  wagon  by 
the  reins  is  hard  work  for  the  horse,  and  equally  hard 
work  for  the  driver.  It  kills  the  very  object  of  driving 
among  gentlemen,  which  is  recreation  and  rest  and 
stimulating  excitement ;  and  makes  what  when  properly 
managed  is  easy  and  delightful  a  most  laborious  and  in- 
deed hazardous  proceeding.  This  light,  easy,  touch-and- 
go  style  of  holding  the  lines  and  guiding  the  horse  is 
supposed  by  some  to  be  insufficient  to  prevent  a  horse 
from  breaking  his  gait ;  but,  far  from  this  being  true,  the 
fact  is,  it  is  the  pulled  horse  that  is  most  likely  to  ''kink  " 
up  and  get  ''twisted''^  in  going.  Nature  has  so  ad- 
justed the  head  and  tail  of  a  horse,  that  they  assist  him, 
when  stretched  in  rapid  motion,  to  keep  his  balance,  and 
direct  himself  All  speedy  animals  run  with  streaming 
tails  and  straightened  necks,  and  noses  pointed  ahead ; 
and  it  stands  to  reason  that  a  horse  with  his  head  curbed 
under,  so  that  his  nose  is  nearly  pulled  against  his  breast, 
cannot  move  at  his  fastest  rate  of  going.  His  driver's 
insane  conduct  keeps  him  out  of  balance,  and  compels 
him  to  go  in  an  unnatural  way.  For  the  same  reasons, 
check-lines  should  be  avoided,  especially  on  colts. 
Now  and  then  it  may  be  necessary  to  put  on  some 
such  contrivance ;  but  it  argues  that  the  colt  or  horse 


HOW  TO  TRAIN   A  COLT.  209 

has  false  action  by  nature,  and  detracts  materially  from 
his  value.  I  am  not  talking  about  track-horses^  but 
about  gentlemen's  driving-horses;  and  I  advise  all  pur- 
chasers to  "  bid  low  "  on  a  colt  that  cannot  trot  all  that 
he  can  trot  without  any  of  this  top-hamper  whatever. 
Buy  no  colts  that  have  to  be  screwed  up  or  screwed 
down  by  patented  inventions  about  the  head ;  but  select 
one  that  moves  off  with  an  untrammelled  neck,  and  nose 
held  naturally  at  just  the  right  angle  for  beauty,  and 
which  is  held  by  himself  in  the  right  position  to  accom- 
modate his  movements,  whatever  be  his  gait.  Beware, 
also,  how  you  buy  colts  that  have  to  be  "booted"  and 
"padded,"  and  gauntleted  with  "rollers."  If  you 
wish  to  buy  a  horse-furnishing  establishment,  buy  one ; 
but  don't  buy  it  with  a  sample  of  all  your  stock  tied 
round  the  legs  of  your  horse.  Buy  no  colt,  young  man, 
that  don't  go  clear  in  every  respect.  If  he  brushes  a 
hair  in  going,  leave  him  in  the  breeder's  yard  for  some 
fool  to  purchase :  never  make  one  of  yourself  by  buy- 
ing him.  His  owner  will  find  purchasers  enough,  no 
doubt ! 

But  to  return  to  the  matter  of  "breaking."  Ordi- 
narily speaking,  do  not  allow  your  colt  to  break  at  all. 
Remember  that  your  business  is  to  educate  him  to  trot^ 
not  to  teach  him  to  run.  But  if  he  does  ever  break, 
then  let  him  break  with  a  vengeance.  Let  there  be 
no  half-way  work  about  it;  no  halting  and  hobbling, 
and  coming  back  in  the  breeching,  but  a  regular 
plunge  forward,  and  a  rocket-like  movement  through 

14 


210  THE  PERFECT   HOUSE. 

the  air.  If  he  breaks,  make  him  gain  hjj  the  break. 
Make  him  understand  that  his  business  is  to  go  ahead^ 
hit  or  miss,  in  one  style  as  long  as  possible ;  but  to  go 
it,  style  or  no  style.  If  you  have  a  green  horse,  that 
comes  back  in  the  breeching  when  he  breaks,  or  even 
when  his  backbone  begins  to  twist  up  before  the  break 
has  actually  begun,  then  give  him  the  whip:  give  it  to 
him  sharp  and  quick.  Get  all  that  nonsense  out  of  him 
at  once  :  keep  him  sailing.  Do  not  yank  him  now,  and 
grab  at  him  with  the  lines,  as  if  your  life  depended  on 
pulling  your  wagon  over  his  back ;  but  let  him  take  four 
or  five  jumps  until  his  back-bone  is  straightened  out, 
and  he  has  got  levelled  down  to  it,  and  is  gathering  his 
legs  up  under  him  like  a  racer ;  then  move  the  bits  in 
his  mouth,  and  "  pick  him  up."  Don't  saw  and  sway 
him,  and  double  him  up  until  his  nose  is  down  between 
his  fore-legs,  and  his  haunches  up  over  his  shoulders. 
Remember  that  his  back  must  be  kept  straight  at  all 
events,  or  he  will  not  catch  his  trot  square,  or  be  able  to 
keep  it  when  he  has  caught  it.  With  a  sharp,  firm 
turn  of  your  wrist,  and  a  lift  on  the  bit,  pick  his  nose 
upward,  and  slightly  to  one  side :  this  will  throw  him 
from  his  balance  just  enough  to  make  him  "grab  for  his 
gait,"  and  not  enough  to  twist  him  into  unsteadiness  or  to 
slack  him  up.  You  may  not  succeed  the  first  or  second 
time ;  but  persevere  until  you  have  educated  your  wrist 
and  eye  to  act  in  conjunction,  and  you  will  then  have 
mastered  one  of  the  most  difficult  feats  of  finest  horse- 
manship.    Sometimes  a  horse  has  to  be  broken  up  to 


HOW  TO  TRAIN  A  COLT.  211 

the  whip  in  order  to  learn  his  own  speed.  When  a 
horse  is  picked  down  to  his  trot,  after  you  have  got  him 
at  his  best  jump,  he  is  forced  to  trot  fast  as  lightning  for 
four  or  five  strides,  or  go  on  to  the  ground.  Such  a 
gait,  even  for  a  few  steps,  to  a  green  horse,  is  a  revelation 
to  liimself.  It  gives  him  a  hint  that  he  never  forgets,  or 
fails  to  improve  upon.  It  is  to  him  what  the  first  dozen 
strokes  in  the  water  are  to  a  young  swimmer, — a  revela- 
tion and  an  ecstasy.  He  can  do  it!  The  feat  is  ac- 
complished! "  Hurrah!  It  is  just  so  with  a  young 
horse.  After  his  first  successful  burst  of  speed,  he  is  a 
new  creature.  A  knowledge  of  his  own  powers,  of 
which  he  had  not  dreamed,  has  come  to  him.  He  is 
lifted  on  the  wings  of  a  new  pride.  Henceforth  he  is 
ambitious  to  excel.     His  career  has  begun. 

The  most  difficult  point  in  settling  a  horse  from  a 
run  to  a  trot  is,  not  in  picking  him  up,  but  in  easing 
him  away.  In  nineteen  cases  out  of  twenty,  the  horse 
is  quicker  than  the  man.  We  ho'ld  our  horses  too  long: 
we  do  not  let  them  catch  their  trot  when  they  are 
ready  to  do  it.  Bear  this  in  mind,  reader,  the  next 
time  your  horse  breaks ;  and,  when  the  moment  has 
come,  let  go  of  him.  Let  every  thing  go  by  the  run,  as 
sailors  say.  Still  this  should  be  observed,  —  that  it  is 
well  to  steady  or  restrain  the  horse  slightly  for  an 
instant  after  the  break,  in  order  that  he  may  have  an 
opportunity  to  collect  his  thoughts,  and  confirm  his 
stroke  :  but  still  the  law  is,  to  keep  him  going ;  that  is, 
if  your  object  is  to  make  speed. 


212  THE  PEHFECT   HORSE. 

There  is   one   peculiarity  about  the  horse  in  trotting 
which  I  have  never  seen  mentioned  in  print ;   and  yet  I 
have  often  observed  it,  and  know  it  to  be  important. 
I  refer  to  the  way  in  which  a  horse  breathes  when  mov- 
ing at  the  top  of  his  speed.     It  is  an  erroneous  idea 
to  suppose  that  horses  breathe  as  regularly  in  action  as 
when  standing  still  or  jogging.     Indeed,  they  do   not 
breathe  at  all  for  strides  at  a  time  when  making  their 
spurts.     They  act  precisely  as  a  man  does  when  making 
a  jump.     When  a  man  is  about  to  make  a  great  jump, 
what  does  he  do  ?     This :  He  takes  in  a  long  breath, 
filling  his  lungs  to  the  full,  and  then  goes  it !     Not  until 
the  leap  is  made  are  the  lungs  inflated  again.     It  is  pre- 
cisely so  with  a  horse  when  trotting,  and  about  to  make 
a  spurt.     Suppose  you  have  been  trailing,  and  have  come 
to  the  last-quarter  post  three  lengths  behind  the  leading 
horse,  which  you  feel  is  doing  about  all  he  is  able  to.     It 
is  now  or  never  with  you.     You  know  it ;  and  your  horse 
Jcnows  it  too.     You  move  the  bits  in  his  mouth,  and  call 
on  him.     He  answers  your  call  with  a  rush  that  carries 
him  like  a  bullet  to  your  rival's  wheel.     Hold  him  there. 
Let  him  get  his  breath.     If  you  urge  him  now,  he  will 
break  sure.     If  he  can  stay  where  he  is,  you  are  all 
right.     He  knows  what  you  are  at ;  and,  when  you  are 
within  fifty  yards  of  the  wire,  call  on  him  again,  and  he 
will  jump  himself  to  the  front  as  sure  as  fate,  unless  he 
is  positively  overmatched,  and  his  opponent  is  handled 
in    the    same  way.     This   is    the    secret   of  the   grand 
rushes  some  horses  arc  accustomed  to  make  near  the 


now   TO   TRAIN   A  COLT.  213 

close  of  the  heat,  and  which  make  the  race,  even  when 
they  are  evidently  overmatched,  uncertain  until  the 
heat  is  actually  finished.  How  many  times  Flora  Tem- 
ple, under  the  skilful  management  of  Hiram  Woodruff, 
would  wrench  victory  from  the  grasp  of  defeat  by  this 
peculiarity  of  movement  and  power!  I  know  a  stallion 
—  not  on  the  course,  and  thus  unknown  —  that  possesses 
this  power  to  a  wonderful  extent.  No  matter  how  fast 
he  is  moving :  there  is  always  another  link  in  him  that 
he  can  let  out  if  necessary.  I  have  seen  him  gather 
himself  for  one  of  these  rushes,  and,  when  called  on, 
send  himself  through  the  air  like  a  bullet  from  a  gun. 

I  wish,  at  this  point  and  in  this  connection,  to  make 
several  quotations  from  Hiram  Woodruff's  "  Trotting- 
Horse  of  America,"  —  a  book  filled  with  much  interest- 
ing knowledge  and  advice,  and  which,  reader,  if  you  do 
not  own,  you  should  purchase  at  once  ;  and  I  do  this 
because  his  views  are  in  close  accordance  with  mine,  and 
because  they  are  expressed  with  great  simplicity  and 
accuracy.  Speaking  of  the  management  of  the  colt,  he 
says,  — 

"  When  you  come  to  drive  him,  it  should  be  with  a 
light,  firm  hand.  The  reins  should  be  handled  nicely 
and  gently.  The  driver  can  manage  the  colt  without 
any  jerking  or  pulling  and  hauling,  if  he  keeps  cool, 
thinks  of  what  he  is  about,  and  uses  proper  care  and 
patience.  The  mouth  is  now  fine  and  sensitive ;  and  it 
ought  to  be  kept  so,  because  this  is  the  great  organ  of 
communication  between  a  good  driver  and  the  trotter, 


214  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

when  he  is  cultivated  and  improved  into  a  fast  horse. 
What  you  want  the  trotter  to  do  when  he  is  at  speed  is 
to  be  got  into  him  through  his  mouth.  You  may 
encourage  him  by  speaking  to  him,  or  sting  him  into 
a  greater  effort  with  the  whip ;  but  neither  of  these  is 
half  as  good  as  the  play  upon  the  reins,  with  which 
you  let  him  know  what  you  want  through  his  lively, 
sensitive  mouth.  You  are  then  to  keep  in  constant 
mind  the  necessity  of  not  impairing  the  colt's  mouth 
by  rough  handling  of  the  reins.  If  you  pull  and  lug  at 
the  bit,  the  colt,  in  his  efforts  to  resist  what  hurts 
him,  will  very  soon  pull  too  ;  for  he  will  find  out  that 
this  numbs  and  deadens  the  jaws :  but  this  is  at  the 
expense  of  ruination  to  the  mouth.  It  will  become 
hard  and  insensible";  and  the  first  and  largest  part  of 
the  mischief  which  goes  towards  the  making  of  a  hard 
puller  is  done. 

"  When  you  begin  to  drive  the  colt,  you  must  find  out 
what  sort  of  bit  suits  him  best.  This  is  matter  of  ex- 
perimental trial.  Use  both  bars  and  snaffles,  all  easy ; 
and  by  feel  of  hand,  and  observation  of  the  way  in 
which  the  colt  carries  his  head,  you  will  soon  be  able  to 
ascertain  which  bit  suits  him  best.  The  nicety  of  your 
touch  as  driver  should  correspond  to  the  lively  sensi- 
bility of  the  colt's  mouth.  A  bad-tempered,  hasty  man 
will  very  soon  spoil  a  good-tempered  young  horse. 
The  use  of  the  whip  ought,  as  a  general  rule,  to  be 
avoided.  In  some  cases,  it  must  be  used  ;  but  it  should 
never  be  brought  into  play  when  the  hors#  does  not 


HOW  TO  TRAIN  A  COLT.  215 

know  what  it  is  for.  A  slap  with  the  whip,  which  al- 
most makes  the  colt  jump  out  of  the  harness,  is  often 
immediately  followed  by  a  powerful  snatch  on  the  reins 
to  pull  him  back  again.  Both  of  these  are  as  bad  as 
bad  can  be.  Sore  mouths,  bad  tempers,  and  broken 
gaits,  are  the  almost  inevitable  results  of  such  handling. 
On  the  other  hand,  if  the  colt  has  been  well  broken, 
and  has  a  good  lively  mouth,  and  the  driver  handles  the 
reins  skilfully  and  thoughtfully,  the  colt  will  soon  learn 
to  understand  every  move  of  the  hand,  and  to  answer 
it.  From  this  it  follows  that  you  ought  to  make  no 
move  with  the  bit  without  a  definite  object.  When 
you  feel  an  impulse  to  do  something  with  the  reins 
without  knowing  what  you  are  to  do  it  /or,  don't  do  it 
at  all.  Such  moves  only  fool  the  horse.  Everybody 
admits  that  a  very  hard-pulling  horse  is  a  nuisance  ; 
and  everybody  knows  that  some  horses  will  pull  if  they 
are  to  trot,  and  will  not  extend  themselves  without  a 
strong  pull :  but,  even  in  regard  to  these,  it  is  not  well 
to  keep  up  a  steady,  rigid  pull  all  the  time.  I  say, 
Rather  pull  for  a  space,  and  then  ease  off,  not  suddenly, 
but  gradually ;  and  by  this  means  they  will  not  pull 
quite  so  hard,  and  will  trot  faster.  It  is  not  natural  for 
horses  to  pull  hard.  Some  there  are,  of  uncommon 
ardor  and  determination,  that  will  pull  in  company ;  but 
more  are  made  hard  pullers  by  faulty  handling  when 
young,  which  has  deadened  their  mouths. 

"  In  order  that  a  fast  horse  should  be  under  circum- 
stances to  do  his  best,  he  should  be  as  much  at  his  ease 


216  THE   PERFECT   HOKSE. 

in  his  harness  and  general  rig  as  possible.  If  he  is  not, 
he  is  placed  at  almost  as  much  disadvantage  as  if  sore 
or  stiff*  or  suffering  from  some  bodily  ailment.  You 
may  see  horses  brought  out  of  the  stable  to  trot  with  a 
very  tight  check  to  keep  their  heads  up,  and  a  tight 
martingale  to  keep  it  down.  Such  a  horse  is  in  irons ; 
and  when  to  this  is  added  a  dead  drag  at  the  reins,  and 
no  movement  of  the  bit  from  end  to  end,  I  cannot  see 
how  he  should  do  his  best.  People  talk  about  a  steady, 
bracing  pull ;  but,  in  my  opinion,  that  is  not  the  right 
way  to  drive  a  trotter.  There  is  a  great  difference 
between  letting  go  of  your  horse's  head,  and  keeping 
up  one  dull,  deadening  pull  all  the  time.  The  race- 
horse riders  practise  what  is  called  a  bracing  pull ;  and 
a  great  many  times  I  have  seen  their  horses  tire  under 
it  without  ever  running  their  best.  The  steady  pull 
choked  them.  The  pull  should  be  sufficient  to  feel  the 
mouth,  and  give  some  support  and  assistance,  so  as  to 
give  the  horse  confidence  to  get  up  to  his  stride.  More 
than  that  is  mischievous.  To  keep  the  mouth  alive,  the 
bit  must  be  shifted  a  little  occasionally.  But  this  is  not 
to  be  done  by  a  pull  of  the  hand  on  the  rein.  A  mere 
half-turn  of  the  wrist,  or  less  than  half  a  turn,  by  which 
the  thumb  is  elevated,  and  the  little  finger  lowered,  is 
sufficient  to  shift  the  bit,  keep  the  mouth  sensitive,  and 
rouse  the  horse. 

"  The  reins  are  to  be  steadily  held  with  both  hands 
while  this  play  with  the  wrist  is  made ;  and  it  is,  of 
course,  only  to  be  done  with  one  wrist  at  a  time.     The 


HOW  TO   TRAIN  A  COLT.  217 

hands  should  be  well  down  ;  and  the  driver  ought  not 
to  sit  all   of  a  heap,  with   his  head  forward.     Neither 
should  he    lean  back,  with    his   bodily  weight   on    the 
reins ;  which,  in  that  case,  are  made  a  sort  of  stay  for 
him.     He  should  be  upright ;  and  what  pulling  he  must 
do  should  be  done  by  the  muscular  force  of  the  arms. 
The  head  and  the  arms  are  what  a  good  driver  uses ; 
but   some   have  their   arms   straight  out,  and  pull  by 
means  of  putting  the  dead  weight  of  their  bodies  on 
the  reins.     If  instead  of  lying  back,  and  putting  their 
bodily  weight  on  the  reins,  with  which  latter  they  take 
a  turn  round  their  hands,  drivers  would  depend  upon 
their  muscular  strength,  they  could  let  up  on  the  pull, 
graduate  it,  and  so  ease  the  horse  from  time  to  time  in- 
stantaneously.    The  driver  who  depends  upon  the  arms 
has  command  of  the  horse  :  he  who  substitutes  bodily 
weight,  with  the  reins  wrapped  round  his  hands,  has  not 
half  command  of  the  horse,  or  of  himself  either  ;  and,  if 
the  horse  is  a  puller,  he  will  soon  take  command  of  the 
driver.     The  reason  of  it  is,  that  there  is  no  intermis- 
sion of  the  exertion,  no  let-up,  either  for  man  or  horse. 
Besides,  in  that  way  of  driving,  it  is  impossible  to  give 
those  movements  to  the  bit  which  seem  to  refresh  and 
stimulate  the  horse  so  much.     When  a  horse  has  been 
taught  the  significance  of  this  movement  of  the  bit,  the 
shift   by  the  turn  of  the   wrist,  he  will   never  fail  to 
answer  it,  even  though  he  should  seem  to  be  at  the  top 
of  his  speed.     The  moment  he  feels  this  little  move  of 
the  bit  in  his  sensitive  mouth,  he  will  collect  himself, 


218  THE  PERFECT  HORSE. 

and  make  another  spurt :  and  the  value  of  this  way  of 
driving  is,  that  the  horse  is  not  likely  to  break  when 
thus  called  upon ;  while  a  high-strung,  generous  horse, 
if  called  upon  for  a  final  effort  with  a  whip,  is  as  likely 
to  break  the  moment  it  falls  on  him  as  not.  I  have  won 
many  a  very  close  heat  by  practising  this  movement ; 
and  therefore  I  have  no  hesitation  in  recommending  it. 
It  is  not  difficult  to  acquire ;  and  the  horse  soon  comes 
to  know  what  it  means. 

*'  Let  us  come  now  to  the  way  of  taking  hold  of  the 
reins.  A  wrap  around  the  hand,  such  as  running-horse 
riders  take,  is  clumsy  and  bad.  I  do  not  know  whether 
many  people  take  hold  of  the  reins  as  I  do,  or  not. 
Perhaps  not.  Sim.  Hoagland  is  the  only  one  who  takes 
hold  precisely  as  I  do,  so  far  as  I  have  observed.  When 
we  have  been  jogging  horses  together  at  early  morn- 
ing, we  have  often  talked  over  these  matters ;  and, 
whether  our  way  was  the  best  way  or  not,  we  could 
never  see  any  other  that  suited  us  half  as  well. 

"  I  will  try  to  explain  how  I  hold  the  reins.  I  could 
show  it  in  two  seconds.  Take,  first,  the  right-hand  rein. 
This,  coming  from  the  bit,  passes  betwen  the  little  fin- 
ger and  the  third  finger,  over  the  little  finger,  then 
under  the  other  three  fingers,  and  up  over  the  thumb. 
The  left-hand  rein  is  held  in  the  left  hand  exactly  in  the 
same  way  ;  but  the  bight  of  the  slack  of  the  reins  is 
also  held  between  the  thumb  and  forefinger  of  the  left 
hand.  This  gives  more  substance  in  that  hand  ;  but, 
if  it  is  found  inconvenient  to  have  it  there  by   those 


HOW  TO  TRAIN  A  COLT.  219 

who  have  small  hands,  it  may  be  dropped  altogether. 
A  firm  grasp  on  each  rein,  with  the  backs  of  the  hands 
up,  and  without  any  wrap,  is  thus  obtained.  It  is  a 
great  point  in  driving  to  be  able  to  shift  the  reach,  — 
that  is,  the  length  of  the  hold  you  take,  —  without,  for 
an  instant,  letting  go  of  the  horse's  head.  With  this 
way  of  holding  the  reins,  it  is  easily  done.  If  I  want  to 
shorten  the  hold  on  the  left-hand  rein  (the  near  rein),  I 
take  hold  of  that  rein  just  behind  the  left  hand  with  the 
thumb  and  forefinger  of  the  right  hand,  and  steady  it. 
This  is  very  easily  done  ;  and  it  does  not  interfere  at  all 
with  the  command  of  the  off  rein  with  the  right  hand. 
The  near  rein  being  thus  steadied  behind  the  left  hand, 
I  slide  that  hand  forward  on  the  rein,  which  is  kept 
over  the  little  finger,  under  the  other  three  fingers,  and 
over  the  thumb  all  the  time,  and  then  shut  the  grasp 
again  on  the  new  reach.  A  shift  with  the  right  hand 
is  made  just  in  the  same  way,  —  by  taking  hold  and 
steadying  the  rein  behind  that  hand  with  the  thumb 
and  forefinger  of  the  left  hand. 

"  I  have  often  observed,  that,  with  other  methods  of 
holding  the  reins,  there  was  great  difficulty  in  shifting 
the  reach.  The  driver  tries  to  do  it ;  but,  for  an  instant, 
he  has  let  go  of  the  horse's  head  on  one  side  altogether, 
and  broken  his  stride.  When  this  is  found  to  be  the 
case,  the  dead  pull  all  the  time  is  adopted ;  and  this 
spoils  the  freedom  and  elasticity  of  the  horse's  stride, 
and  chokes  his  wind.  I  do  not  intend  this  to  be  taken 
as   instruction   for  professional    drivers.     Every  driver 


220  THE  PERFECT   HOUSE. 

has  a  way  of  his  own ;  and  some  of  them  have  very 
good  ways ;  for,  as  I  have  taken  occasion  to  state  before, 
they  drive  well.  But  what  I  have  set  down  above  may 
be  of  service  to  gentlemen  who  drive  their  own  horses, 
and  to  those  young  men,  who,  having  as  yet  no  settled 
method  of  their  own,  may  think  it  Avell  enough  to  try 
that  which  I  have  found  to  answer.  Another  word 
about  bits.  I  am  opposed  to  the  use  of  severe  bits, 
and  complicated  things  of  that  sort.  Some  of  the  in- 
ventors of  such  things  say  that  I  am  prejudiced ;  but  I 
don't  think  I  am.  If  a  man  has  a  horse  that  cannot  be 
driven  with  a  bar-bit  or  a  snaffle,  he  may  as  well  sell 
him,  except  it  is  a  very  exceptional  case.  Where  are 
these  kinds  of  severe  complicated  bits  most  in  use  ? 
Why,  in  England.  Five  hundred  or  a  thousand  of  them 
are  used  there  to  one  that  is  used  here.  And  where  do 
the  horses  trot  the  best  ?  These  bits  are  mostly  invent- 
ed by  men  who  have  had  no  practical  experience  what- 
ever as  to  what  sort  of  driving  a  fast  trotter  requires  to 
keep  his  gait  square  and  bold,  and  induce  him  to  do 
his  best  when  it  is  called  for.  When  a  horse  has  a  good 
mouth,  —  and  a  bad  one  is  almost  always  the  fault  of 
bad  breaking  and  driving,  —  the  easier  the  bit  you  use, 
the  better  he  will  act  for  you,  and  the  more  speed  he 
will  show  you." 

This,  also,  touching  the  matter  of  punishing  horses 
when  they  break :  — 

"  In  nine  cases  out  of  ten,  a  horse  punished  without  his 
knowing  what  for  is  punished  for  his  driver's  fault,  not 


HOW   TO  TRAIN  A  COLT.  221 

for  his  own.  Confidence  cannot  grow  in  such  circum- 
stances. If  you  observe  two  good  trotters  who  have 
been  accustomed  to  work  together  in  double  harness, 
you  will  see  what  speed  and  steadiness  follow  from  con- 
fidence in  each  other.  Each  knows  that  he  or  she  can 
depend  upon  the  mate  to  keep  up  the  stroke,  and  main- 
tain the  even  pull  and  level  action.  It  is  of  just  as 
much  importance  that  the  single-harness  horse  should 
understand  and  have  confidence  in  his  driver,  as  it  is 
for  a  double-harness  horse  to  know  the  power  and  ways 
of  his  mate.  Unless  this  sort  of  mutual  understanding 
can  be  established  between  the  driver  and  the  horse, 
the  latter  can  never  be  relied  upon  to  do  his  best.  The 
readiest  way  to  produce  it  is  to  use  him  gently  but 
firmly,  and  to  accustom  him  to  the  system  of  telegraph- 
ing to  him  by  means  of  the  reins  in  your  hand  and  the 
bit  in  his  mouth.  The  whip  is  to  be  kept  very  much  in 
the  background  while  you  are  cultivating  confidence  in 
your  horse.  It  is  more  likely  to  prove  an  obstacle  than 
an  aid. 

''I  now  come  to  the  last  critical  point  in  this  matter, 
—  when  the  horse  is  tired,  and  inclined  to  break.  In 
a  long  brush,  you  will  often  have  reason  to  look  for  an 
attempt  to  break ;  and  it  will  generally  be  in  circum- 
stances when  the  horse  must  not  be  suffered  to  do  it. 
There  are  times,  as  I  have  shown,  when,  with  a  tired 
horse,  a  break  may  be  brought  on  with  advantage  ;  but 
there  are  others  when  all  will  be  lost  if  a  break  occur. 
To  prevent  it,  give  the  shift  with  the  bit  when  you  per- 


222  THE  PEKFECT  HORSE. 

ceive  that  he  begins  to  tire,  and  soon  renew  it:  this 
will  revive  and  rouse  him,  and  take  his  mind  oiF  the 
break  which  he  has  felt  he  was  about  to  make.  The 
signs  of  a  coming  break  will  be  discovered  by  watching 
the  head  and  ears  of  the  horse.  The  attention  of  the 
driver  ought  always  to  be  fixed  upon  the  head  of  his 
horse.  Many  a  heat  is  lost  by  neglect  of  this  matter. 
A  driver  is  seen  coming  up  the  stretch  a  length  or  a 
length  and  a  half  ahead.  Both  the  horses  are  tired; 
but  the  leading  one  could  win.  The  driver,  however, 
when  he  gets  where  the  carriages  are,  turns  his  head  to 
look  at  the  ladies,  or  to  see  whether  they  are  looking  at 
him.  Just  then  the  horse  gives  a  twitch  with  his  ears. 
The  driver  don't  see  it.  Up  flies  the  trotter ;  and  the 
ugly  man  behind  keeps  his  horse  square,  and  wins  by  a 
neck." 

I  have  now  touched  upon  the  essential  points  in 
reference  to  the  training  and  driving  of  colts  and  horses. 
I  wish  the  reader  to  bear  in  mind  that  I  have  written 
in  the  way  of  suggestion,  and  not  of  dictation  ;  my  ob- 
ject being  to  awaken  thought,  rather  than  to  lay  down 
inflexible  rules.  Concerning  the  preparation  which  it 
is  necessary  to  give  a  horse  in  order  to  make  him  fit 
for  a  public  race,  it  does  not  seem  to  me  that  I  am 
called  upon  to  speak.  The  object  of  this  book  does 
not  call  for  such  a  discussion.  The  men  who  will,  for 
the  most  part,  I  presume,  purchase  and  read  it,  are 
men  in  no  ways  interested  save  as  spectators  in  public 
racing.     If  any  reader  has  a  horse  that   he  wishes  to 


HOW  TO  TRAIN   A  COLT.  223 

bring  out,  and  which  must,  therefore,  receive  the  grand 
preparation,  his  true  course  is  to  commit  him  to  the 
charge   of    some    experienced   trainer   and   driver,    to 
whose  opinion  and  advice  every  thing  relating  to  the 
animal  should  be  referred.     I  have  written  rather  in 
the  interest  of  the  breeder,  and  of  that  large,  and,  I  am 
glad  to  say,  rapidly-increasing  class  of  gentlemen  who 
own,    and  love   to    drive,    the    trotting-horse.     Among 
these  I  am  happy  to  be  numbered  as  a  companion.     I 
hold   that  no  healthier  recreation  or  innocent  amuse- 
ment is  open  to  the  business  and  professional  men  of 
America  than  this  of  driving  speedy  horses.     It  gives 
relaxation  to  the  mind,  breaks  pleasantly  and  impera- 
tively in   upon   the   prolonged  strain  and  tension  of 
anxious   thought,  begets  and  nourishes  a  spirited  but 
harmless  rivalry,  and  compels  a  delightful  and  profit- 
able companionship  with  Nature.     I  know,  that,  in  the 
minds  of  some,    prejudices  exist  against   men  of  pro- 
fessed piety  indulging  in  such  an  amusement.     To  own 
a   fast   horse    opens  up  before  their   prophetic  vision 
truly  awful  contingencies.     It  is  needless  to  say  that  I 
do  not,  to  any  considerable  extent,  share  in  this  anxiety. 
I  have  never  discovered  any  law  in  nature,  or  injunc- 
tion in  revelation,  which  makes  it  a  duty  for  a  good 
man  to  own  and  use  a  poor  specimen  of  any  species  of 
animals.     I  see  no  reason  why  such  a  person  should 
have  none  but  homely  birds  in  his  cages,  black  sheep  in 
his  flocks,  lean  kine  in  his  fields,  and  lazy  horses  in  his 
stables.     The  fact  is,  a  good  man  has  a  right  to  the 


224  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

best.  The  perfect  type  is  the  only  fit  type.  Any 
thing  less  than  this  is  unworthy,  —  a  lapse  and  falling-ofF 
from  the  original  standard  as  erected  in  the  creation. 
A  horse  was  made  for  speed  as  truly  as  a  bird  was 
made  to  fly  ;  and  flight  and  speed  become,  therefore, 
standards  of  appreciation  and  value.  If  a  man  objects 
to  speed,  then  why  drive  a  horse  at  all  ?  Why  not 
take  a  donkey  or  a  cow,  and  have  done  with  it  ?  If 
piety  is  compatible  only  with  slowness  of  motion,  then 
a  horse  is  no  animal  for  a  Christian  to  own  anyway ; 
for  the  nearer  a  horse  approaches,  as  I  conceive,  to  the 
original  type,  and  also  the  divine  intention  as  embod- 
ied in  it,  the  more  speedy  he  becomes.  Beauty  and 
speed  are  therefore,  as  I  conceive,  legitimate  objects 
of  desire  and  admiration  ;  and,  since  the  horse  embodies 
these  two  characteristics  in  a  greater  degree  than  any 
other  domestic  animal,  it  is  a  proof  that  the  man  is  of 
sound  judgment,  and  lacketh  not  wisdom,  who  desires 
to  own  a  beautiful  and  fast  horse.  Indeed,  a  man  that 
does  not  love  and  desire  such  a  creature  seems  to  me 
to  be  lacking  in  some  essential  elements  of  human 
nature.  Something  was  omitted  in  his  construction, 
which,  being  possessed,  would  have  made  him  larger  and 
better.  I  do  not  object,  therefore,  either  to  fast  horses, 
as  the  phrase  is,  or  to  driving  them  fast  within  proper 
restrictions,  such  as  common  sense  and  humane  impulse 
will  naturally  suggest ;  nor  do  I  see  any  reason  why 
gentlemen  owners  and  breeders  alike  of  fine  horses 
should  not  exhibit  their  paces  and  their  rate  of  speed 


HOW  TO  TRAIN  A  COLT.  225 

at  our  annual  fairs,  when  the  people  come  together  to 
inspect  and  compare,  to  buy  and  sell,  the  vegetable  and 
animal  products  of  the  country.  If  it  is  right  to  offer 
and  receive  a  prize  for  fatness  of  swine,  and  stoutness 
of  oxen,  and  fleece-bearing  capacity  of  sheep,  and  even 
fancy  kinds  of  hens  and  pigeons,  then  I  do  not  see 
why  prizes  should  not  be  offered  and  contended  for  in 
respect  to  the  comparative  speed  of  rival  horses.  No 
one  has  a  right  to  condemn  an  honorable  rivalry  among 
honorable  men  in  honorable  things. 

16 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  HORSE'S  FOOT,  AND  HOW  TO  SHOE  IT. 

We  now  come  to  the  consideration  of  the  most  diffi- 
cult and  interesting  subject  a  horseman  can  consider,  — 
the  matter  of  shoeing.  Hundreds  of  volumes  have  been 
written  upon  this  topic,  and  hundreds  more,  I  presume, 
w^ill  be  published ;  and  yet  no  ground  of  common  agree- 
ment has,  as  yet,  been  found,  and  may  not  be  for  years 
to  come.  It  is  not,  therefore,  with  the  expectation  that 
men  will  agree  with  me,  or  that  I  shall  be  able  to  har- 
monize antagonistic  opinions,  that  I  now  address  myself 
to  the  discussion ;  for  such  a  hope  would  be  vain,  and  the 
result  of  the  effort  useless.  I  do  not  doubt  that  what 
I  have  to  say  will  stir  the  wrath  of  some,  and  excite 
the  active  hostility  of  others ;  but  to  this  I  am  indiffer- 
ent, if  peradventure  I  may  be  able  to  make  a  matter  hith- 
erto veiled  in  darkness,  and  shrouded  in  mystery,  to  the 
popular  eye,  more  plainly  understood  by  those  who  are 
more  directly  interested  in  it  than  all  the  veterinary 
colleges  in  the  world:  I  mean  the  actual  owners  of 
horses.     I  do  not  write  in  the  interest  of  any  clique  of 

226 


THE  horse's  foot,   AND   HOW  TO   SHOE  IT.  227 

men  or  pet  theory.     I  have  no  hobby,  and  am  a  mem- 
ber of  no  clique.     I  have  no  "patent  shoe"  to  adver- 
tise, nor  wealthy  patron  to  flatter  or  fool.     Nor  have  I 
any  reputation  to  risk,  or  "new  principles"  to  bring 
forward.      My  only  ambition  is  to  write  in  a  sensible 
way  what  I  have  learned  by  reading  and  observation 
touching  the  horse's  feet,  and  the  treatment  they  should 
receive  in  shoeing.     Touching  the  literature  of  the  sub- 
ject, I  yield  to  no  one  as  a  student.     The  leisure  of 
years  has  been  devoted  to  its  perusal.     I  believe  that 
my  reading,  from  the  oldest  Italian  treatise  to  the  "last 
book  out,"  has  been  as  wide  and  thorough  as  any  per- 
son's to-day  living.     Nor  have  I  read  with  prejudice,  or 
to  discover  some  principle  which  I  might  put  in  metallic 
form,  patent,  and  send  out  to  the  world  heralded  as 
"the   great   combination-shoe."      I   have   read   simply 
that  I  might  know  what  other  men  had  thought,  and, 
if  possible,  discover  the  source  of  those  atrocious  errors 
in  modern  farriery  which  are  a  disgrace  to  our  veteri- 
nary service,  and  a  source  of  torture  to  the  horse.     I  do 
not  mention  this  in  vanity,  —  although  it  might  be  so 
construed  by  those  who  cannot  understand  frankness,  nor 
appreciate  the  candor  of  honesty,  — but  to  the  end  that 
those  who  peruse  these  pages  —  the  average  farmer  and 
farmer's  boy  —  may  feel  that  they  are  reading  the  opin- 
ions of  a  man  who  has  gone  faithfully  and  patiently  to 
the  bottom  of  the  subject,  so  far,  at  least,  as  mastering  its 
literature  goes,  and  is  teaching  them  with  a  knowledge 
of  all  the  facts  in  the  case  in  his  mind.    This,  also,  should 


228  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

be  said  in  this  connection :  I  do  not  propose  to  dictate. 
My  object  is  suggestion,  not  dictation.  If  I  advance 
opinions,  I  shall  give  the  reasons  which  support  them. 
If  I  declare  a  thing  wrong,  I  shall  show  why  and 
wherein  it  is  wrong.  The  reader  can  think  as  he 
wishes;  but  I  propose  to  have  every  one  know  what 
I  think,  and  why  I  think  it. 

The  trouble  with  many  books  on  this  general  sub- 
ject is,  that  common  uneducated  readers  cannot  under- 
stand them.  To  a  vocabulary  essentially  technical  and 
scientific,  and  therefore  unfitted  to  be  the  vehicle  of 
imparting  ideas  to  the  masses,  is  attached  a  habit  of 
using  Latin  and  French  terms,  which  not  one  reader  in 
five  hundred  can  translate.  Indeed,  it  would  seem 
that  certain  authors  suppose  that  the  use  of  a  Latin 
nomenclature  increases  the  value  of  description,  and  en- 
hances the  reputation  of  the  writer ;  for  they  use  it  as 
often  as  possible,  in  season  a«d  out  of  season.  If  they 
speak  of  the  last  bone  in  the  foot,  instead  of  saying 
the  pedal  bone,  they  say  the  os  pedis  j  if  of  the  caronal 
bone,  it  is  the  os  caronce ;  and  so  on.  The  result  is, 
that  none  but  college-educated  men  among  the  masses 
can  follow  their  diagnosis,  or  understand  their  descrip- 
tions ;  and  a  book  which  might  have  been  a  delight 
and  profit  to  the  purchaser,  and  which  was  bought  in 
the  expectation  that  it  would  be,  is,  after  repeated 
attempts  to  understand  it,  thrown  aside  in  disgust,  and 
rightfully  pronounced  a  humbug. 

Now,  I  wish  all  to  be  assured  at  the  start  that  there 


THE  horse's   foot,    AND   HOW   TO   SHOE  IT.  229 

is  nothing  mysterious  or  incomprehensible  touching 
this  matter  of  the  horse's  foot.  It  is  as  easy  to  under- 
stand the  several  parts  of  the  foot,  and  their  use,  as  it 
is  to  understand  the  shoulder  or  head.  Many  authors 
begin  their  books  in  a  style  of  expression  calculated  to 
give  the  reader  the  idea  that  the  foot  of  the  horse  is  the 
most  difficult  portion  of  his  organism  for  people  to  com- 
prehend, and  that  they  must  not  expect  to  comprehend 
it  like  a  veterinary  surgeon  (!),  and  must  not  be  surprised 
if  they  do  not  understand  it  very  well  when  they  have 
got  through  with  reading  their  work.  The  latter  sug- 
gestion was,  beyond  doubt,  most  accurate !  Indeed,  it 
would  have  been  a  matter  of  great  surprise  to  me  if 
they  had  understood  any  thing  by  the  time  they  had 
finished  the  book.  But  the  incomprehensibility  existed 
not  in  the  difficulties  of  the  subject  so  much  as  in  the 
ignorance  of  those  who  professed  to  be  able  to  teach 
people  concerning  it.  The  plea  of  "mysteriousness," 
and  the  "inherent  and  ineradicable  difficulties  of  the 
subject,"  are  excellent  subterfuges  whereby  inattention 
and  stupidity  can  veil  their  own  lack  of  understanding : 
but  it  is  put  forward  at  a  terrible  risk  of  exposure  in 
reference  to  the  horse's  foot ;  for  there  is  no  part  nor 
element  of  the  foot,  there  is  no  bone  or  fibre,  there  is 
no  duct  or  secretion,  that  a  boy  of  twelve  might  not 
readily  comprehend,  and  that,  too,  easily.  Indeed,  every 
part  of  the  foot  is  peculiarly  distinct  and  individual,  and 
in  its  own  structure  and  location  suggests,  as  plainly  as 
Nature  can  suggest  any  thing,  its  office  and  use.     In  fact, 


230  THE  PERFECT  HORSE. 

I  know  not  any  other  organ  in  the  whole  frame  of  a 
horse  so  easily  and  quickly  understood  as  the  foot.  It 
is  comparatively  simple  in  its  formation,  and  the  mutual 
adjustment  of  its  several  parts  is  quickly  mastered. 
It  is,  therefore,  not  to  a  mysterious  subject,  but  to  one 
easily  understood,  that  I  now  invite  your  attention. 
The  subject  is  the  horse's  foot^  and  how  to  shoe  it 

One  of  the  greatest  obstacles  in  the  way  of  reforma- 
tion —  for  nearly  all  admit  that  our  system  of  caring 
for  and  shoeing  the  horse's  foot  is  simply  atrocious  — 
is    to    be    found    in    the    ignorance    of    the    average 
smith.     I  would  not  speak  disrespectfully  of  any  man, 
or  class  of  men,  who  earn  their  living  by  the   sweat 
of  their  brow  ;    for  their  industry  commends  them  to 
courteous  mention  :    but  it  is  a  fact,  that  the  average 
horse-shoer  of  the   country  is  distinguished  chiefly  by 
what  he  does  not  know,  rather  than  by  what  he  does 
understand,   of  the   principles   and   uses   of   his    craft. 
The  only   excuse    that   can  be  urged  in   his   favor  — 
and,    to   any   candid   and    thoughtful    person,    it   will, 
I  doubt  not,  seem  ample  —  is  this:    No  one  has  ever 
taught  him  any  thing.      There  has  been   literally  no 
avenue  of  knowledge  open  to  him.     In  ancient  times, 
veterinary   surgeons   were   the  smiths  ;    and   by  them 
gentlemen  were  taught  how  to  shoe  their  own  horses. 
It  was  the  duty  of  the  veterinary  to  do  this.     The  edu- 
cation of  no  knight  was  regarded  adequate  for  a  mar- 
tial career  until  he  was  thoroughly  instructed  in  the 
principles  and  practice  of  fiirriery.     It  was  not  beneath 


THE   horse's  foot,   AND   HOW  TO  SHOE  IT.  231 

the  pride  of  a  noble  to  desire  to  excel  in  protecting 
the  feet  of  his  gallant  steed ;  and  no  one,  either  noble  or 
base-born,  could  presume  to  touch  a  foot  to  fit  a  shoe  to 
it,  unless  he  had  been  regularly  and  fully  instructed  in 
the  art  of  farriery,  any  more  than  a  physician  could  now 
be  admitted  to  practise,  or  a  lawyer  to  plead,  unless 
they  had  gone  through  the  necessary  medical  or  legal 
study.  By  this  method  the  smiths  were  made  intelli- 
gent, and  worthy  of  popular  support;  and,  to  every 
young  man  wishing  to  acquire  the  art  of  farriery,  means 
were  not  lacking.  But  to-day,  and  especially  in  this 
country,  our  young  men  are  not  taught  at  all,  and  can- 
not be  taught,  save  as  to  the  merest  inechanical  part  of 
the  trade ;  because  the  person  under  whom  they  are  is 
as  ignorant  as  they  are  touching  the  anatomy  of  the 
horse's  foot,  and  the  literature  of  the  subject,  which  is 
rich  in  suggestion  and  fact ;  and,  indeed,  differs  from  the 
apprentice  in  nothing  save  as  to  his  years.  In  such  a 
state  of  things,  no  advance  in  proficiency  can  be  made. 
Each  generation  has  the  same  knowledge,  and  lack  of 
knowledge,  as  the  preceding ;  and  the  poor  horse  con- 
tinues to  suffer. 

In  addition  to  this,  we  must  add  another  consideration, 
in  order  that  the  statement  of  our  position  may  be  ac- 
curate; viz.,  that,  if  the  smiths  are  ignorant,  the  owners 
of  horses,  for  the  most  part,  are  even  more  so.  Inquire 
among  your  acquaintances,  and  you  will  find  that  not  one 
man  in  a  hundred  has  any  idea  of  the  subject  at  all.  He 
reads  an  advertisement  in  praise  of  some  patent  shoe, 


232  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

and  blindly  adopts  it ;  or  else,  with  equal  blindness  and 
indifference,  leaves  every  thing  to  the  almost  equally 
ignorant  smith.  Between  the  two,  one  can  imagine 
how  the  poor  horse  must  fare.  It  is  astonishing  to 
me  that  men  can  be  so  careless  as  to  property  so  ex- 
posed to  hazard  as  are  horses,  especially  when,  at  a 
trifling  expense  of  time  and  money,  they  might  become 
tolerably  well  informed  in  respect  to  the  matter.  Now, 
I  submit  that  the  first  thing  that  a  man  who  owns  a 
horse  should  obtain  is  knowledge  of  the  foot,  and  the 
best  method  of  protecting  it ;  because  it  is  the  foot,  and 
the  condition  of  it,  on  which  depends  the  value  of  the 
animal,  whether  he  be  kept  for  pleasure  or  profit.  The 
owner  of  a  horse  should  first  study  the  foot  in  its  anat- 
omy and  use,  until  every  bone  and  particle  are  well 
known  to  him  in  their  location,  character,  and  use.  The 
way  that  Nature  feeds  and  nourishes  its  several  parts ; 
the  points  that  need  artificial  defence,  and  how  pro- 
tected ;  the  diseases  to  which  it  is  liable  ;  the  curative 
applications  and  contrivances  needed  when  the  organ 
becomes  injured  or  diseased,  —  these  points,  and  other 
like  ones,  should  receive  close  and  prolonged  attention 
until  they  become  perfectly  famihar.  This  is  the  prin- 
ciple universally  adopted  and  put  in  practice  touching 
any  other  class  of  property.  The  reason  why  this  is  not 
the  practice  of  horsemen  is  not  certainly  found  in 
any  difficulty  about  understanding  the  subject  to  be 
studied.  As  I  have  said  before,  there  is  no  mystery 
about  the  matter,  save  such  as  ignorance  and  passion, 


THE   horse's   foot,    AND    HOW   TO   SHOE   IT.  233 

on  the  part  of  those  treating  of  it,  have  thrown  around 
it.  The  foot  of  the  horse,  unlike  the  human  foot,  is 
very  simple  in  its  construction.  The  human  foot  is 
complex,  filled  with  a  multitude  of  bones  tied  together 
by  manifold  attachments,  threaded  in  all  directions  with 
blood-vessels,  and  braced  and  held  together  by  bunches 
and  layers  of  muscle  and  cartilage,  which,  in  conjunction 
with  the  other  parts,  make  it  simply  bewildering  to  any 
eye  save  the  trained  organ  of  the  surgeon  or  the  anato- 
mist. But,  with  the  horse's  foot,  the  case  is  precisely 
the  reverse.  It  has  but  few  bones;  its  venous  system  is 
not  elaborate ;  its  parts  few ;  and  its  construction  exceed- 
ingly simple,  and  so  perfect,  that  the  use  of  each  is 
plainly  advertised.  Nature's  design,  in  the  wall,  sole, 
bars,  and  frog,  is  not  left  to  conjecture :  it  is  clearly  re- 
vealed. Nor  is  it  difficult  to  ascertain  the  location  of  the 
bones  of  the  foot,  or  any  other  essential  part  of  the  organ. 
Nor  is  it  necessary  for  one  to  enter  into  an  elaborate 
scientific  description  of  the  internal  structure  of  the  foot : 
such  description  is  not  called  for  in  a  work  designed 
for  suggestion  and  popular  instruction,  rather  than  for 
professional  service.  Touching  the  value  of  the  foot, 
nothing  need  be  said  ;  since  it  is  universally  acknowl- 
edged to  be  superlative.  A  horse  without  sound  feet 
is  no  horse  at  all ;  that  is,  the  uses  and  services 
for  which  Nature  designed  him  he  can  never  per- 
form. The  preservation  of  the  foot  in  its  natural  state, 
which  generally  is  the  perfect  state,  is  of  prime  neces- 
sity.    The  main  divisions  of  the  foot  are  these :  1.  The 


234  THE   PERFECT   HORSE. 

wall ;  2.  The  sole ;  3.  The  frog  ;  4.  The  bars.  The  use 
of  the  wall  is  evidently  to  defend  the  internal  parts  of 
the  foot,  and  furnish  a  support  for  the  body.  The  sole 
has  a  twofold  division,  composed  of  the  outer  or  non- 
sensitive  sole,  —  the  design  of  which  is  to  protect  the 
ground-surface  of  the  foot  from  contusion,  and  assist  the 
wall  in  sustaining  the  superincumbent  weight,  —  and 
the  sensitive  sole,  the  use  of  which  is  to  assist  the  horse, 
by  the  sense  of  touch,  in  placing  his  foot  to  the  ground  in 
such  a  way  as  to  favor  it,  and  to  feed  the  outer  sole 
with  the  material  of  which  it  is  made. 

The  sense  of  touch  to  which  I  have  alluded  is  a  most 
essential  power  to  the  horse  ;  for  it  enables  him,  in  the 
very  act  and  instant  of  placing  his  foot  to  the  ground,  to 
do  just  what  all  boys  do  when  running  with  bare  feet,  — 
viz.,  favor  that  side  or  section  of  the  foot  upon  which, 
by  reason  of  inequality  of  the  ground,  undue  pressure  is 
brought.  It  is  not  by  his  eyes  that  a  boy  saves  his  feet 
from  contusion  :  there  is  a  power  located  in  his  foot,  a 
power  of  interpreting  danger  before  it  has  become 
dangerous,  by  which,  although  his  foot  has  actually 
struck  the  ground,  he  is  nevertheless  able  to  throw  the 
weight  off  from  that  section  of  the  foot  which  is  being 
unduly  exposed.  A  horse,  in  one  sense,  does  literally /ee/ 
his  way  along.  The  weight  of  his  body  is  thrown  upon 
this  side  of  his  foot  or  that,  this  end  or  that,  just  as  he 
feels  the  necessity  of  it ;  and  this  lightning-like  adjust- 
ment of  his  weight,  according  to  the  feeling  of  his  foot, 
is  caused  by  the  action  of  a  sense  so  quick,  that  it  is  done 


THE  horse's   foot,   AND   HOW  TO   SHOE  IT.  235 

after  the   foot   has   actually  come  in  contact  with  the 
ground. 

It  is  also  by  means  of  this  inner  or  sensitive  sole  that 
the  secretions  which  feed  the  outer  sole  are  deposited. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  outer  sole  has  for  its  use  the 
work  of  protecting  the  inner  sole  both  from  contact 
with  the  ground  and  also  with  the  atmosphere.  This 
atmospheric  contact  results  in  absorbing  the  natural 
moisture  until  it  becomes  desiccated,  or  parched,  so  that 
great  cracks  and  rents  appear  in  it,  as  the  farmer  in 
August,  on  a  clay  bottom,  finds  great  rents  and  cracks 
in  the  soil.  In  short,  the  outer  sole  is  Nature's  shield  and 
Nature's  stuffing  for  the  inner  sole,  to  ward  off,  on  the 
one  hand,  the  blows  that  might  otherwise  smite  it ;  and, 
on  the  other  hand,  to  keep  its  juices,  by  the  means  of 
which  the  sole  of  the  foot  is  being  supplied  with 
needed  nutrition,  from  being  dried  up.  At  this  point 
we  may  properly  inquire.  If  this  is  the  use  and  office 
of  the  outer  sole,  if  it  holds  such  an  important  rank  in 
the  order  of  natural  provision  for  the  sound  condition 
and  healthy  growth  of  the  foot,  why  is  it  ever  pared 
away  ?  This  is  my  answer :  The  reason  is,  because 
people  are  ignorant,  and  blindly  follow  a  stupid  and 
barbarous  custom,  instead  of  pausing  to  reflect  upon 
what  they  are  doing.  Ask  any  smith  why  he  pares 
out  the  sole  of  a  foot,  and  he  can  give  you  no 
reason  save  that  he  has  been  taught  to  do  so.  And 
who,  pray,  taught  him  ?  Some  one  as  ignorant  as 
he,   I  reply.      And   so,   generation  after  generation,  a 


236  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

barbarous  and  indefensible  act  has  been  committed,  to 
the  premature  breaking-down  of  many  valuable  horses, 
the  actual  maiming  of  not  a  few,  and  the  painful 
torturing  of  some. 

No  form  of  flesh  is  more  sensitive  to  pain  than  the 
inner  substance  of  the  horse's  foot.  Its  power  of  sen- 
sitiveness is  like  that  which  lies  sleeping  under  a  human 
finger-nail.  To  protect  this  from  hurt  and  undue  press- 
ure. Nature  has  put  this  hard,  horny  shield, — viz.,  the 
outer  sole ;  and  yet  I  have  often  sat  and  seen  an  igno- 
rant smith  hack  and  hew  and  pare  aAvay  this  natural 
protection  until  he  could  actually  indent  it  with  his  fin- 
gers, and  little  drops  of  blood  oozed  forth  from  within. 
Imagine  the  feelings  of  the  horse  after  having  been  put 
into  the  shafts !  He  was  driven  forth  into  the  dust  and 
gravel  of  the  streets,  or  sent  pounding  along  a  stone 
pavement,  with  nothing  but  the  thinnest  possible  fila- 
ment of  horn-substance  left  between  the  exquisite  inner 
organization  of  the  foot,  and  the  dirt,  gravel,  and  stones 
on  which  he  was  travelling.  And  yet  this  method  of 
procedure  is  not  only  tolerated  by  gentlemen  of  wealth 
and  character,  but  vindicated  and  held  up  as  the 
model  (!)  method  of  preparing  the  foot  for  the  emer- 
gencies of  actual  service. 

''The  horn,"  says  a  recent  writer,  "is  secreted  from 
the  living  surface;  and  myriads  of  beautiful  vascular 
and  sensitive  tufts  dependent  from  this  surface  enter 
the  horn-fibres  to  a  certain  depth,  and  play  an  important 
part  in  the  formation  of  the  sole.     The  newly-formed 


THE  HORSE  S  FOOT,  AND  HOW  TO  SHOE  IT.     237 

horn  is  soft  and  spongy,  and  incapable  of  resisting  ex- 
posure to  the  air ;  but,  as  it  is  pushed  farther  away  from 
this  surface  by  successive  deposits  of  fresh  material,  it 
becomes  old  horn,  loses  its  moisture,  and,  in  doing  so, 
acquires  hardness  and  rigidity  sufficient  to  withstand 
external  influences:  then  it  is  subjected  to  wear;  and,  if 
this  be  insufficient  to  reduce  it  sufficiently,  it  falls  off  in 
scales.  But  the  process  of  exfoHation  is  not  a  rapid 
one :  the  flakes  remain  attached  to  the  solid  horn  be- 
neath, more  or  less  firmly,  until  it,  in  turn,  commences  to 
loosen  on  the  surface,  and  yield  new  flakes ;  when  the 
old  ones  separate.  This  natural  diminution  in  the  ex- 
cess of  horn  of  the  sole  is  a  most  beneficial  process  for 
the  hoof  Horn  is  a  slow  conductor  of  heat  and  cold, 
and,  when  thick,  retains  moisture  for  a  long  period. 
These  flakes,  then,  act  as  a  natural  'stopping'  to  the 
hoof  by  accumulating  and  retaining  moisture  beneath ; 
and  this  not  only  keeps  the  foot  cool  as  it  slowly  evapo- 
rates, but  insures  for  the  solid  and  growing  horn  its 
toughness,  elasticity,  and  proper  development.  In  ad- 
dition to  this,  every  flake  acts  more  or  less  as  a  spring 
in  warding  off"  bruises  or  other  injuries  to  the  sole ;  and 
thus  the  floor  of  the  horny  box  is  protected  from  in- 
jury externally  and  internally. 

"What  occurs  when  the  farrier — following  out  the 
routine  of  his  craft,  or  obeying  the  injunctions  of  those 
as  ignorant  as  himself,  or  so  prejudiced  as  not  to  be  able 
to  reason  —  pares  the  sole  until  it  springs  to  the  press- 
ure of  his  thumb  ?     Why,  the  lower  surface  of  the  foot 


238  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

—  that  which  is  destined  to  come  into  contact  with  the 
ground,   and  to   encounter  its  inequalities,  and  which, 
more   than  any  other  part,  requires   to   be    efficiently 
shielded  —  is  at  once  "ruthlessly  denuded  of  its  protec- 
tion, and  exposed  to  the  most  serious  injury.     The  im- 
mature horn,  suddenly  stripped  of  its  outer  covering, 
immediately  begins  to  experience  the  evil  effects  of  ex- 
ternal influences.     It  loses  its  moisture,  dries,  hardens, 
and  shrivels  up.     It  also  occupies  a  smaller  space ;  and, 
in  doing  so,  the  sole  becomes  more  concave,  drawing 
after  it  the  wall,  —  for  it  must  be  remembered  that  the 
sole  is  a  strong  stay  against  contraction  of  the  lower 
margin  of  the  hoof,  —  and  the  consequence  is,  that  the 
foot  gradually  decreases  in  size,  and  the  quarters  and 
heels   narrow.     The    animal    goes    '  tender,'    even   on 
smooth  ground;   but,  if  he  chance  to  put  his  mutilated 
sole  on  a  stone,  what  pain  must  he  experience !     This 
tenderness   on   even   ground  or  smoothly-paved  roads 
arises  from  the  fact,  that  not  only  is  the  entire  sensitive 
surface  compressed,  irritated,  or  inflamed,  by  the  hard, 
contracting  envelope,  and  the   unnatural    exposure   to 
sudden  changes  of  heat  and  cold,  but  the  little  sensitive 
processes  contained  at  the  upper  end  of  each  of  the  horn- 
fibrcs  are  painfully  crushed  in  their  greatly-diminished 
tubes;  and,  instead  of  being  organs  of  secretion  and  the 
most  delicate  touch,  they  arc  now  scarcely  more  than 
instruments  of  torture  to  the  unfortunate  animal.     Not 
only  is  pain  or  uneasiness  experienced  during  progres- 
sion, but,  even  in  the  stable,  the  horse  whose  soles  have 


THE   horse's   foot,   AND   HOW   TO   SHOE  IT.  239 

been  so  barbarously  treated  exhibits  tenderness  in  his 
feet  by  resting  them ;  and,  if  felt,  a  great  increase  of 
temperature  will  be  perceived. 

"  Owing  to  the  secreting  apparatus  of  the  sole  being 
deranged  through  this  senseless  paring,  the  formation 
of  new  horn  takes  place  slowly  ;  and  it  is  not  until  a 
certain  quantity  has  been  provided  to  compensate  in 
some  degree  for  that  removed  that  the  horse  begins  to 
stand  easier  and  travel  better.  Scarcely,  however,  has 
the  restorative  process  advanced  to  this  stage,  before  it 
is  time  for  him  to  be  reshod ;  when  this  part  must  again 
submit  to  be  robbed  of  its  horn. 

^'  The  sole  having  been  pared  too  thin  and  concave 
leaves  the  circumference  of  the  hoof  standing  much 
higher  than  if  it  had  been  left  intact,  and  apparently 
too  long :  so  the  wall  must  be  still  more  reduced. 
This  is  done  ;  and  we  now  have  the  whole  ground-face 
of  the  hoof  so  wasted  and  mutilated,  that,  should  the 
horse  chance  to  lose  a  shoe  soon  after  being  shod,  the 
impoverished  foot  cannot  bear  the  rude  contact  of 
the  ground  for  more  than  a  few  yards,  and  the  poor 
creature  is  lame  and  useless. 

*'  The  tenderness  and  lameness  arising  from  this  mal- 
treatment are  usually  ascribed  to  every  thing  but  the 
right  cause ;  and  the  most  popular  is  concussion.  To 
avert  this,  and  protect  the  defenceless  sole,  a  most 
absurd  shoe  is  required ;  and,  still  more  absurd,  the 
natural  covering  is  attempted  to  be  replaced  by  a  plate 
of  leather  interposed  between  the  ground  and  the  sole, 


240  THE  I>ERFECT  HORSE. 

and  which  is  made  to  retain  bundles  of  tow  steeped  in 
tar  or  some  pernicious  substance.  It  is  scarcely  neces- 
sary to  say  that  this  artificial  covering  is  but  a  poor 
substitute  for  that  which  has  been  so  foolishly,  and  with 
so  much  careful  labor,  cut  away:  indeed,  in  several 
respects,  the  leather  sole,  even  when  only  placed  be- 
tween the  wall  and  the  shoe,  and  not  over  the  entire 
surface,  is  very  objectionable. 

"  Seeing,  therefore,  the  natural  provision  existing  in 
the  sole  of  the  hoof  for  its  diminution  in  thickness 
when  necessary,  and  knowing  that  the  intact  sole  is  the 
best  safeguard  against  injury  and  deterioration  to  this 
region,  it  must  be  laid  down  as  a  rule  in  farriery,  —  and 
from  which  there  must  be  no  departure,  —  that  this  part 
is  not  to  be  interfered  with,  on  any  pretence,  so  long  as 
the  foot  is  in  health :  not  even  the  flakes  are  to  be 
disturbed. 

"•  Faring  the  Frog.  —  This  part  of  the  hoof  is  that 
which,  in  the  opinion  of  the  grooms  and  coachmen,  most 
requires  cutting^  '  to  prevent  its  coming  on  the  ground, 
and  laming  the  horse  ; '  and  this  reason,  together  with 
its  softer  texture,  causes  it  to  be  made  the  sport  of  the 
farrier's  relentless  knife.  It  is  artistically  and  thorough- 
ly trimmed,  the  fine  elastic  horn  being  sliced  away, 
sometimes  even  to  the  quick  ;  and,  in  its  sadly-reduced 
form,  it  undergoes  the  same  changes  as  have  been  ob- 
served in  the  pared  sole.  No  wonder,  then,  that  it  can- 
not bear  touching  the  ground  any  more  than  the  sole. 
Strip  the  skin  off  the  sole  of  a  man's  foot,  and  cause 


THE   horse's   foot,   AND   HOW  TO   SHOE  IT.  241 

him  to  travel  over  stony  or  pebbly  roads :  would  he 
Tvalk  comfortably  and  soundly  ?  " 

Concerning  the  use  of  the  frog,  there  exists  much 
disagreement  of  opinion  among  those  who  are  supposed 
to  know  all  that  is  worth  knowing  about  the  equine 
structure.  Fleming,  in  his  "  Practical  Horse- Shoeing,"  — 
a  book  of  value  to  the  student  of  this  subject,  —  thus 
describes  the  frog  :  — 

"  The  liorny  frog  is  an  exact  reduplication  of  that 
within  the  hoof,  described  as  the  sensitive  or  fatty  frog. 
It  is  triangular,  or  rather  pyramidal,  in  shape ;  and  is 
situated  at  the  back  part  of  the  hoof,  within  the  bars, 
with  its  point,  or  apex,  extending  forward  to  the  centre 
of  the  sole,  and  its  base,  or  thickest  portion,  filling  up 
the  wide  space  left  between  the  inflections  of  the  wall. 
In  the  middle  of  the  posterior  part  is  a  cleft,  which,  in 
the  healthy  state,  should  not  be  deep,  but  rather  shallow, 
and  sound  on  its  surface. 

"  In  structure,  this  body  is  also  fibrous,  the  fibres  pass- 
ing in  the  same  direction  as  those  of  the  other  portions 
of  the  hoof;  but  instead  of  being  quite  rectilinear,  like 
them,  they  are  wavy  or  flexuous  in  their  course,  and 
present  some  microscopical  peculiarities,  which,  though 
interesting  to  the  comparative  anatomist,  need  not  be 
alluded  to  here.  The  fibres  are  finer  than  those  of  the 
sole  and  wall,  and  are  composed  of  cells  arranged  in  the 
same  manner  as  elsewhere  in  the  hoof:  they  are  formed 
by  the  villi  which  thickly  stud  the  face  of  the  membrane 
covering  the  sensitive  frog. 

16 


242  THE  PERFECT  HORSE. 

"The  substance  of  the  horny  frog  is  eminently  elastic, 
and  corresponds  in  the  closest  manner  to  the  dense,  elas- 
tic, epidemic  pads  on  the  soles  of  the  feet  of  such  ani- 
mals as  the  camel,  elephant,  lion,  bear,  dog,  cat,  &c., 
and  which  are  evidently  designed  for  contact  with  the 
ground,  the  support  and  protection  of  the  tendons  that 
flex  the  foot,  to  facilitate  the  springy  movements  of  these 
creatures,  and  for  the  prevention  of  jar  and  injury  to 
the  limbs. 

''  In  the  horse's  foot,  the  presence  of  this  thick,  com- 
pressible, and  supple  mass  of  horn  at  the  back  of  the 
hoof,  its  being  in  a  healthy,  unmutilated  condition,  and 
permitted  to  reach  the  ground  while  the  animal  is  stand- 
ing or  moving,  are  absolutely  essential  to  the  well-being 
of  that  organ,  more  especially  should  speed,  in  addition 
to  weight-carrying,  be  exacted." 

The  frog  serves  several  uses,  and  is  a  most  impor- 
tant organ.     Lafosse,  in  1754,  wrote, — 

'^  The  frog  is  composed  of  soft  and  compact  horn, 
spongy  and  elastic  in  its  nature,  and  serves  as  a  cushion 
to  the  tendon  Achilles.  It  ought  to  bear  fully  on  the 
ground,  as  much  for  the  facility  as  for  the  safety  of 
the  horse  when  in  movement.  It  is,"  he  adds,  "the 
natural  point  d'appui  of  the  flexor  tendon."  Some 
have  supposed  that  another  use  of  the  frog  was  to 
expand  the  heels  of  the  foot.  They  have  an  idea 
that  it  acts  like  a  wedge  driven  in  between  the  bars 
of  the  foot,  and  that,  at  every  shock  it  receives  when 
brought  in  contact  with  the  ground,  it  is  driven  home, 


THE  horse's   foot,   AND   HOW  TO   SHOE  IT.  243 

as  it  were,  causing  the  bars  and  wall  of  the  hoof  to 
expand  laterally.  This  "lateral-expansion"  theory  is 
at  variance  with  my  opinion. 

Practically  there  can  be  no  lateral  expansion  of  the 
horny  substances  of  the  foot.  Much  less  likely  is  it 
that  a  soft,  yielding,  elastic  substance  like  the  frog 
could  overcome  the  resistance  of  dense,  solid,  inelastic 
substance  such  as  composes  the  walls,  bars,  and  sole  of  a 
horse's  foot.  I  do  not  say  that  by  artificial  processes, 
such  as  sawing  and  cutting  and  boring,  the  walls  of  the 
hoof  cannot  be  laterally  expanded,  without  the  employ- 
ment of  any  great  degree  of  skill,  either;  for  it  requires 
no  great  effort  for  a  strong,  able-bodied  man  to  saw 
the  leg  off  at  the  knee-joint,  or  where  it  makes  its 
junction  with  the  body,  for  that  matter.  A  knife  and 
saw  in  the  hand  of  a  hobbyist  can  do  most  any  thing. 
I  think  that  fifty  dollars  is  a  high  price  for  sawing 
open  a  horse's  foot ;  although  some  differ  from  me,  and 
hold  it  to  be  astonishingly  cheap.  In  this  way,  lateral 
expansion  can  indeed  be  gotten ;  but  in  no  other  way. 
It  is  this  'lateral-expansion"  theory  which  has  been  a 
source  of  torture  to  the  horse.  In  order  to  accommo- 
date its  claim,  soles  have  been  pared  away  until  the 
blood  trickled ;  bars  dug  out  until  not  the  least  trace 
of  them  remained ;  Nature's  cushion  —  the  frog — been 
shaved  down  until  only  a  little  line  and  fragment  of  it 
was  left;  heels  wedged  open  with  forcible  pressures, 
and  even  lacerated  with  the  teeth  of  a  saw :  and  the 
edge    of   the   satire   is  felt   only  when  we   remember 


244  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

that  the  theory  is  a  humbug ;  that  lateral  expansion  is 
a  thing  that  does  not  exist  in  the  hoof  of  a  horse,  and 
could  not  exist  without  imperilling  its  entire  service. 
The  inference  from  what  we  have  said  is  this  (and  it 
would  be  well  if  every  reader  would  accept  it  as  a 
law  in  shoeing) :  Never  allow  the  knife  to  touch  the 
sole  of  your  horse's  foot,  nor  the  least  bit  of  it  be  pared 
away ;  because  Nature  needs  the  full  bulk  of  it,  and 
has  amply  provided  for  its  removal  at  the  proper  time, 
without  assistance  from  you.  And,  secondly,  never 
allow  a  knife  to  be  put  to  the  frog;  because  Nature 
never  provides  too  much  of  it  to  answer  the  purpose 
for  which  the  Creator  designed  it;  and  the  larger  it 
is,  the  more  swiftly,  easily,  and  safely  will  your 
horse  go. 

The  bars  of  the  foot  are  but  the  prolongation  of  the 
outer  wall  of  the  hoof  Their  object  is  to  protect  the 
frog,  and  strengthen  the  foot  itself  Their  value  in 
this  direction  can  scarcely  be  over-estimated.  To  cut 
them  away  is  like  removing  the  beams  that  keep  the 
walls  of  a  house  from  falling  outward  or  crushing 
inward.  If  a  healthy  foot  is  placed  upon  a  glass 
stand,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  ground-surface  of  the 
wall,  bars,  and  frog,  all  bear  the  relative  proportion 
of  weight.  These  might  be  called  the  three  great 
pillars  on  which  the  body  of  the  horse,  like  some 
dome  upheld  by  three  columns,  stands.  To  shorten  or 
remove  two  of  these  three  columns  is,  of  course,  fatal. 
The   dome   is   of  such   weight   as   to   crush   the   sole 


THE  horse's   foot,   AND   HOW  TO   SHOE  IT.  245 

remaining  support.  This  is  precisely  the  condition 
of  things  under  the  common  vicious  system  of  shoeing. 
The  bars  are  cut  away  so  that  they  cannot  touch  the 
earth ;  the  frog  is  pared  down  the  same  way ;  the  sole, 
also,  is  gouged  out:  and  the  result  is,  that  nothing  is 
left  but  the  wall  of  the  hoof  to  support  the  vast  bulk 
and  weight  above.  When  you  remember  that  the  wall 
is  very  thin, — scarcely  half  an  inch  in  thickness  where 
it  touches  the  ground,  —  you  will  share  with  me  the 
surprise,  not  that  so  many  horses  ^' pound  their  feet 
up "  and  break  down,  or  "give  out  in  their  feet"  as 
the  saying  is,  but  that  any  horses  survive  at  all.  The 
true  way  is  to  let  every  thing  grow,  and  grow  to  the 
fullest  extent  that  Nature  designs  it  to  reach:  and, 
in  shoeing,  seek  only  to  protect  from  too  rapid  destruc- 
tion what  Nature  has  put  together ;  least  of  all  cut  away 
that  which  Nature  has  provided  so  abundantly,  and 
more  efficiently  than  the  art  and  skill  of  man  can  ever 
hope  to  effect.  And  this  brings  me  to  the  preparation 
of  the  foot  for  the  shoe. 

The  only  preparation  that  the  frog,  bars,  and  sole 
require  in  a  healthy,  natural  foot,  as  we  have  shown,  is 
to  be  let  alone.  The  only  portion  of  the  foot  that  need 
be  or  should  be  touched  is  the  ground-surface  of  the 
wall.  This  should  be  levelled  with  knife  or  rasp  (better 
with  the  rasp  than  with  the  knife,  as  we  think)  until 
the  proper  angle  which  the  hoof  should  make  with  the 
ground  has  been  reached;  and  this  is  all.  This  angle 
of  the  ground-surface  is  apt  to  be  unattended  to.     The 


246  THE  PERFECT  HOUSE. 

angle  which  is  generally  given  is  that  of  45° :  but  this 
is  evidently  wrong;  and  our  wonder  is  that  any  one 
should  have  suggested  or  indorsed  it.  In  speaking  of 
this  angle,  Fleming  says,  — 

''  It  will  be  obvious  that  this  inclination  also  varies  with 
the  breeding  of  the  animal  and  the  conformation  of  the 
limbs,  so  that  no  definite  degree  can  be  assigned.  But 
it  must  be  pointed  out,  that  giving  the  angle  of  45°,  as 
is  done  in  almost  every  treatise  on  shoeing  and  the 
anatomy  of  the  foot,  is  a  grave  error.  Looked  at  in 
profile,  a  hoof  with  this  degree  of  obliquity  would  at 
once  be  pronounced  a  deformity.  The  slope  is  too 
great  (Fig.  I) ;  and,  if  the  farrier  were  to  attempt  to 
bring  every  foot  he  shod  to  this  standard,  he  would  in- 
flict serious  injury,  not  only 
on  the  foot  itself,  but  also  on 
the  back-tendons  and  the 
joints  of  the  limbs.  Careful 
measurement  will  prove  that 
hig.  1.  the  obliquity  of  the  front  of 

the  hoof  is  rarely,  if  ever,  in  a  well-shaped  leg  and  foot, 
above  50° ;  and  that  it  is,  in  the  great  majority  of  cases, 
nearer  56°.  The  sides,  or  'quarters,'  of  the  wall,  are 
less  inclined,  though  the  outer  is  generally  more  so 
than  the  inner ;  while  the  heels  are  still  more  vertical, 
and  the  inner  may  even  incline  slightly  inward.  Viewed 
in  profile,  the  posterior  face  of  the  hoof  will  be  ob- 
served to  have  the  same  degree  of  slope  as  the  front 
face.      In  height,   the  heels  are  usually  a  little  more 


THE   horse's   foot,   AND   HOW   TO   SHOE  IT.  247 

than  one-half  that  of  the  toe.  Both  heels  are  equal  in 
height." 

Generally  speaking,  the  toes  are  left  too  long.  It 
should  be  remembered  that  it  is  the  front  portion  of  the 
foot  that  would  be  most  worn,  were  it  not  protected  by 
the  shoe  ;  and,  owing  to  this  fact,  feet  with  projecting 
toes  would  never  occur  in  nature.  The  length  of  the 
human  foot  could  not  be  materially  increased  without 
greatly  incommoding  us  when  walking  or  running  ;  and 
so,  when  the  front  of  the  horse's  hoof  is  allowed  to  pro- 
trude as  we  often  see  it,  he  labors  under  great  incon- 
venience, and  possibly  pain,  when  in  motion.  The  sug- 
gestion of  Nature  is,  that  the  toe  should  be  kept  duly 
shortened,  the  front  edge  of  the  shoe  drawn  a  little  back 
from  the  rim  of  the  wall,  and  rounded,  so  that  the  metal 
will  take  the  shape  which  the  hoof  would  have  if  the 
wall  were  undefended  with  metallic '  covering,  and  ex- 
posed to  the  friction  at  every  spring. 

I  propose,  at  this  point,  to  quote  at  length  from  a 
treatise,  on  the  same  subject  of  which  we  are  treating, 
by  Lafosse,  a  French  veterinarian  and  author,  who  wrote 
in  the  first  half  of  the  eighteenth  century,  and  from 
whose  works  more  ideas  have  been  taken,  without  any 
acknowledgment,  by  the  writers  of  the  last  fifty  years  on 
the  horse's  foot,  than  from  any  other  author  in  any  branch 
of  literature  that  I  can  recall.  Lafosse,  according  to 
my  judgment,  is  the  wisest  man  who  ever  wrote  upon 
the  subject.  Indeed,  no  considerable  improvement  has 
been  made,  as  I  think,  in  what  he  wrote  in  regard  to  the 


248  THE  PERFECT  HORSE. 

horse's  foot,  and  how  to  treat  it.  Men  have  stolen  from 
him  right  and  left.  His  works  have  been  the  great 
thesaurus  from  which  literary  thieves  have  filched  their 
boasted  opinions.  Even  his  errors  they  have  adopted, 
and  given  him  no  credit  for  them !  Principles  which 
he  discovered,  believed  in,  published,  and  afterwards 
disproved  and  threw  overboard,  they  have  taken,  put 
into  a  metallic  shape,  patented,  and  advertised  them  to 
the  world  as  new  discoveries.  At  the  feet  of  this  wise 
teacher  I  sit  gladly  as  a  pupil ;  and  I  feel  that  I  can  do 
no  greater  service  to  the  horsemen  of  America  than 
to  introduce  into  these  pages  certain  portions  of  his 
works.  At  one  point,  he  is  speaking  of  the  errors  em- 
bodied in  the  then  system  of  shoeing ;  and  his  words 
are  applicable  unto  us  of  this  day.  I  cannot  do  better 
than  to  transcribe  numerically  some  of  the  points  he 
makes.     He  says,  — 

"1.  Long  shoes,  thick  at  the  heels,  never  remain 
firmly  attached  to  the  feet  in  consequence  of  their 
weight,  and  break  the  clinches  of  the  nails. 

*'  2.  They  require  proportionately  large  nails  to  re- 
tain them ;  and  these  split  the  horn ;  or,  frequently,  their 
thick  stalks  press  against  the  sensitive  laminae  and  sole, 
and  cause  the  horse  to  go  lame. 

"3.  Horses  are  liable  to  pull  oif  these  long  shoes 
when  the  hind-foot  treads  upon  the  heel  of  the  fore- 
shoe,  either  in  walking,  while  standing,  by  putting  the 
one  foot  upon  the  other,  between  two  paving-stones  in 
the  pavement,  between  the  bars  of  gates,  in  the  draw- 
bridges of  fortifications,  or  in  heavy  ground. 


THE  horse's   foot,    AND   HOW   TO  ^HOE  IT.  249 

*'  4.  They  move  heavily,  as  the  weight  of  their  shoes 
fatigues  them. 

"  5.  Long  shoes  with  massive  heels  raise  the  frogs 
from  the  ground,  and  prevent  the  horse  walking  on 
those  parts.  Then,  if  the  horse  has  a  humor  in  the 
frog,  it  becomes  a  ficthrush,  or  crajpaitd  (canker),  be- 
cause the  humor  lodges  there.  In  shoeing  with  short 
shoes,  the  horse  goes  on  his  frog ;  the  humor  is  dissi- 
pated more  easily,  particularly  in  the  fore-feet,  as  the 
animal  places  more  weight  upon  them  than  the  hind 
ones. 

"  6.  Long  shoes,  thick  at  the  heels,  when  put  upon 
feet  which  have  low  heels,  bruise,  and  bend  them  in- 
wards, and  lame  the  horse,  although  the  heel  be  sprung ; 
and,  when  the  foot  is  raised,  we  can  see  daylight  between 
the  shoe  and  the  hoof  When  it  is  on  the  ground,  the 
heel  descends  to  the  shoes,  because  the  hoof  is  flexible. 

"  7.  Shoes  long  and  strong  at  the  heels,  when  the 
foot  is  pared,  —  the  frog  being  removed  a  long  distance 
from  the  ground,  —  cause  many  accidents ;  such  as  the 
rupture  or  straining  of  the  flexor  tendon,  and  compres- 
sion of  the  vascular  sole,  —  a  circumstance  not  known 
until  I  pointed  it  out. 

''  8.  Long  shoes  cause  horses  to  slip  and  fall,  because 
they  act  like  a  patten  on  the  slippery  pavement,  as  well 
in  summer  as  in  winter. 

^'  9.  Long  shoes  are  also  injurious  when  horses  lie 
like  a  cow,  in  consequence  of  the  heels  wounding  the 
elbows. 


250  THE  PERFECT  HORSE. 

''10.  Calkins  should  not  be  used  on  paved  roads: 
they  are  only  useful  on  ice  or  slippery  ground,  —  terre 
grasse. 

"11.  The  calkins  on  the  inside  heels  are  liable  to 
wound  the  coronets  when  the  horse  happens  to  cross 
his  feet. 

"12.  A  horse  shod  with  them  is  soon  fatigued,  and 
never  goes  easy. 

"13.  The  horse  which  has  only  a  calkin  on  the  out- 
side does  not  stand  fair ;  and  the  calkin  confines  the 
movement  of  the  coronary  articulation,  the  foot  being 
twisted  to  one  side. 

"14.  If  a  horse  has  his  feet  pared,  and  loses  a  shoe, 
he  cannot  travel  without  breaking  and  bruising  the 
wall,  and  damaging  the  horny  sole,  because  the  horn  is 
too  thin  to  protect  it. 

"15.  If  the  shoes  are  long,  and  the  heels  of  the  hoof 
pared  out  hollow,  stones  and  pebbles  lodge  between  the 
shoe  and  the  sole,  and  make  the  horse  lame. 

"16.  Flat  feet  become  convex  by  hollowing  the 
shoes  to  relieve  the  heels  and  the  frog,  because,  the 
more  the  shoes  are  arched  from  the  sole,  the  more 
the  wall  of  the  hoofs  is  squeezed  and  rolled  inwards, 
particularly  towards  the  inner  quarter,  which  is  the 
weakest.  The  sole  of  the  foot  becomes  convex,  and 
the  horse  is  nearly  always  unfit  for  service. 

"  17.  If  the  wall  of  the  hoof  is  thin,  and  the  shoes 
are  arched,  the  quarters  are  so  pressed  upon,  that  the 
horse  is  lame. 


THE  horse's   foot,   AND   HOW  TO   SHOE  IT.  251 

"  18.  Pared  hoofs  are  exposed  to  considerable  injury 
from  wounds  by  nails,  stones,  glass,  &c. 

"19.  The  pared  sole  readily  picks  up  earth  or  sand, 
which  forms  a  kind  of  cement  between  it  and  the  shoe, 
and  produces  lameness. 

"20.  The  reason  why  it  is  dangerous  to  pare  the  feet 
of  horses,  is  because,  when  the  sole  is  pared,  and  the 
horse  stands  in  a  dry  place,  the  horn  becomes  desiccated 
by  the  air  which  enters  it,  and  removes  its  moisture  and 
its  suppleness,  and  often  causes  the  animal  to  be  lame. 

"21.  A  habit  to  be  abolished  is  that  in  which  the  far- 
rier, to  save  trouble,  burns  the  sole  with  a  hot  iron,  so 
as  to  pare  it  more  easily.  The  result,  often,  is  to  heat 
the  sensitive  sole,  and  cripple  the  horse. 

"22.  It  often  happens,  that,  to  make  the  foot  pleasant 
to  look  at,  the  horn  of  the  sole  is  removed  to  the  quick ; 
and  the  flesh  springs  out  from  it.  This  granulation  is 
called  a  '  cherry ; '  and  sometimes  it  makes  the  horse 
unserviceable  for  a  considerable  period. 

"23.  It  is  the  pared  foot  which  is  most  affected  with 
what  is  termed  contracted  or  weak  inside  quarter,  and 
which  also  lames  the  horse. 

"24.  It  also  happens  that  one  or  both  quarters  con- 
tract, and  sometimes  even  the  whole  hoof:  then,  in  con- 
sequence of  its  smallness,  all  the  internal  parts  are 
confined  in  their  movements.  This  lames  the  horse,  and 
is  due  to  paring. 

"25.  There  also  occurs  another  accident.  When  the 
quarter  becomes  contracted,  the  hoof  splits  in  its  lateral 


252  THE  PERFECT   HOKSE. 

aspect.    This  accident  is  termed  *a  sand-crack/ — seime^ 
—  and  the  horse  is  lame. 

"  26.  The  fashion  of  paring  the  hoofs,  and  especially 
the  heels,  within  which  are  the  bars,  causes  contraction ; 
and  this  renders  the  horse  lame. 

*'  27.  It  is  an  abuse  to  rasp  the  hoofs  of  horses :  this 
alters  the  hoof,  and  forms  sand-cracks. 

"28.  If  a  horse  which  has  pared  hoofs  happens  to  lose 
his  shoes,  and  walks  without  them,  the  horn  is  quickly 
used,  and  the  feet  damaged. 

"29.  Another  defect  is  in  the  manner  of  making  large 
nail-holes  in  the  shoes,  &c. 

"30.  The  majority  of  farriers,  in  order  to  pare  the 
sole  well,  cut  it  until  it  bleeds ;  and,  to  stop  the  hemor- 
rhage, they  burn  the  place  with  a  hot  iron,  and  the 
horse  returns  lame  to  his  stable." 

In  reference  to  this,  Fleming  says,  — 

"We  see,  then,  that  the  curse  of  paring  and  heavy 
shoes  was  causing  great  evils  in  the  days  of  Lafosse,  as 
much  as  in  our  own.  After  enumerating  all  the  vices 
and  defects  of  shoeing  as  it  was  then  practised,  he  pro- 
ceeds to  lay  the  foundation  for  a  rational  method ;  and 
his  remarks  to  this  end  are  particularly  happy.  In  a 
state  of  nature,  he  observes,  all  the  inferior  parts  of  the 
foot  concur  to  sustain  the  weight  of  the  body :  then  we 
observe  that  the  heels  and  the  frogs  —  the  parts  said  to 
be  most  exposed  —  are  never  damaged  by  wear  ;  that 
the  wall,  or  crust,  is  alone  worn  in  going  on  hard  ground ; 
and  that  it  is  only  this  part  which  must  be  protected, 


THE   horse's   foot,    AND   HOW   TO   SHOE  IT.  253 

leaving  the  other  parts  free  and  unfettered  in  their 
natural  movements.  These  are  the  true  and  simple 
principles  of  good  farriery  he  lays  down;  and  they  are 
as  appropriate  and  explicit  to-day  as  they  were  then." 


Lafosse  croes  on  to 


to 


say, 


"To  prevent  horses  slipping  on  the  dry,  glistening 
pavement,  — pave  sec  et  plomhe^  —  it  is  necessary  to 
shoe  them  with  a  crescent-shaped  shoe,  —  that  is,  a  shoe 
which  only  occupies  the  circumference  of  the  toe,  and 
whose  heels  gradually  thin  away  to  the  middle  of  the 
quarters,  —  so  that  the  frog  and  heels  of  the  hoof  bear 
on  the  ground,  and  the  weight  be  sustained  behind  and 
before,  but  particularly  in  the  latter,  because  the  weight 
of  the  body  falls  heaviest  there.  The  shorter  the  shoe  is, 
the  less  the  horse  slips ;  and  the  frog  has  the  same  influ- 
ence in  preventing  this  that  an  old  hat  placed  under  our 
own  shoes  would  have  in  protecting  us  from  slipping  on 
ice. 

"It  is  necessary,  nevertheless,  that  hoofs  which  have 
weak  walls  should  be  a  little  longer  shod,  so  that  the 
•gradually  thinning  branches  reach  to  the  heels,  though 
not  resting  upon  them.  For  horses  which  have  thin,  con- 
vex soles,  — pieds  comhles^  —  these  long  shoes  should  be 
also  used ;  and  the  toes  should  be  more  covered  to  pre- 
vent the  sole  touching  the  ground :  at  the  same  time, 
the  shoe  must  be  so  fitted  that  it  does  not  press  upon 
the  sole,  and  the  heels  and  frpg  rest  upon  the  ground. 
This  is  the  only  true  method  of  preserving  the  foot,  and 
restoring  it.  ...  A  horse  which  has  its  heels  weak  and 


254  THE   PERFECT   HORSE. 

sensitive  ought  to  be  shod  as  short  as  possible,  and  with 
thin  branches,  — eponrjes^  — so  that  the  frog  comes  in  con- 
tact with  the  ground ;  because  the  heels,  having  nothing 
beneath  them,  are  benefited  and  relieved  (Fig.  2). 

"  Crescent  shoes  are  all  the 
more  needful  for  a  horse  which 
has  weak,  incurvated  quarters, 
as  they  not  only  relieve  them, 
but  also  restore  them  to  their 
natural  condition.  Horses  which 
have  contusions  at  the  heels  — 
hleimes^  corns  —  should  also  be 
shod  in  this  manner;  and  for 
cracks  —  seimes^  sand-cracks  — 
^*«f*  2-  at  the  quarter  it  is  also  advan- 

tageous. The  sole^  or  frocj^  slioidcl  never  he  pared :  the 
wall  alone  should  be  cut  down,  if  it  is  too  long.  When 
a  horse  cuts  himself  with  the  opposite  foot,  the  inner 
branch  of  the  shoe  ous^ht  to  be  shorter  and  thinner  than 
the  outer.  In  order  that  the  shoe  wear  a  long  time,  I 
have  used  a  nail  of  my  invention,  the  head  of  which  is 
in  the  form  of  a  cone,  and  the  aperture  in  the  shoe  of 
the  same  shape,  and  exactly  filled  by  the  nail.  How- 
ever much  the  shoe  may  be  worn,  it  is  always  retained 
in  its  place.  This  kind  of  nail  (Fig.  2)  possesses  three 
other  advantages :  one,  that  it  is  less  liable  to  be  broken 
at  the  neck,  because  it  exactly  fits  the  stamped  hole ;  the 
other,  that  it  is  smaller,  and,  in  consequence,  not  likely 
to  press  on  the  sensitive  part  of  the  foot ;  and,  lastly, 
that  it  does  less  damage  to  the  horn. 


THE  horse's   foot,   AND   HOW   TO   SHOE  IT.  255 

"By  this  new  mode  of  shoeing,  all  the  defects  and  ac- 
cidents attendant  upon  the  old  method  are  evaded." 

In  another  place  he  gives  directions  for  shoeing  good 
hoofs  on  horses  kept  for  general  service,  as  follows :  — 

"  The  shoes  must  not  be  too  long,  or  project  beyond 
the  heels,  but  only  reach  the  bars;  neither  must  the 
hoofs,  behind  or  before,  be  pared.  The  wall,  or  crust, 
alone  should  be  diminished  in  proportion  as  it  may  be 
too  long.  This  should  be  done  evenly ;  and  neither  the 
sole  nor  frog  must  be  cut :  the  latter  should  be  allowed 
to  project,  if  possible,  above  the  shoe,  so  that  it  may 
come  into  contact  with  the  ground.  The  shoe  ought  to 
be  about  the  same  strength  throughout,  or  a  little 
thicker  and  wider  in  the  outer  branch  of  the  fore-foot, 
and  thin  at  the  heels  of  the  hind  one.  Be  careful  to 
stamp  the  nail-holes  on  the  same  line,  not  in  a  zigzag 
manner.  The  holes  should  not  be  too  coarse,  as  there 
is  then  danger  of  pricking  the  horse,  or  binding  the 
hoof  with  the  stalk  of  the  nail.  The  shoe  should  be 
stamped  coarser  outside  than  inside,  because  it  may 
be  necessary  to  leave  it  wider  outside.  Do  not  bend 
the  shoes  in  adjusting  them,  nor  arch  them:  they 
ought  to  be  nearly  flat ;  though  they  might  be  slightly 
curved,  so  as  to  preserve  the  wall  of  the  hoof  They 
should  also  follow  the  outline  of  the  hoof,  —  a  little  more 
to  the  outside  than  the  inside.  When  fitting,  the  shoe 
should  not  be  kept  too  long  a  time  on  the  hoof,  for 
fear  of  heating  it.  With  this  shoeing  we  may  travel 
on  slippery   ground  or   grass  land,   in  using  for  each 


256  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

shoe  two  nails  with  long  heads,  which  will  prevent  the 
horse  from  slipping.  Also  during  frost,  on  paved 
roads,  or  ice  or  snow,  use  these  nails,  as  they  prevent 
slipping :  the  roads  being  hard,  three  nails  are  required, 
—  two  in  the  outer  branch,  and  one  in  the  inner.'' 

Eeverting  to  the  defective  shoeing  of  his  time, 
he  endeavors  to  demonstrate,  that,  by  removing  the 
horn  of  the  frog,  and  points  of  the  heels,  from  the 
ground,  the  animal's  footing  on  paved  roads  is  much 
less  secure. 

"The  draught-horse,"  he  says,  "first  places  his  weight 
on  the  toe,  then  on  the  two  sides  of  the  hoof;  and 
afterwards  the  heels  are  lowered  to  meet  the  heel 
of  the  shoe.  The  saddle-horse  rests  more  lightly  on 
the  toe.  The  canon  (or  shank-bone)  presses  on  the 
pastern-bone,  this  on  the  coronary,  and  this  again  on 
the  coffin  and  navicular  bones.  From  this  disposition, 
we  should  note  two  important  points  which  throw  light 
on  the  defects  of  the  present  method,  and  indicate  how 
to  remedy  them :  one  is,  that  the  strain  of  the  weight 
is  neither  fixed  on  the  toe  nor  heel,  but  between  the 
two;  the  other,  that  the  more  the  frog  is  removed 
from  the  ground,  or  from  any  point  of  support,  the 
more  the  pressure  of  the  coronary  on  the  navicular 
bone  fatigues  the  tendon  on  which  it  rests,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  excessive  extension  it  experiences  at 
each  step  the  horse  takes.  The  frog  ought,  therefore, 
to  rest  on  the  ground,  as  much  for  the  facility  as  for 
the  surety  of  the  horse's  movements ;  as  the  larger  the 


THE  HOKSE'S  foot,   AND   HOW  TO   SHOE  IT.  257 

frog  is,  so  the  less  do  the  heels  meet  the  ground ;  and 
the  more  the  heels  are  relieved,  the  greater  ease  does 
the  horse  experience  in  progression.  The  only  way 
to  insure  this  is  to  shoe  him  according  to  the  method  I 
have  indicated,  as  this  causes  him  to  walk  on  his  frog, 
which  is  the  natural  prop  or  basis — point  cVappui  — 
for  the  flexor  tendon." 

Fleming,  in  quoting  this  passage  from  Lafosse, 
says,  — 

*' The  whole  aim  of  Lafosse's  teaching  appears  to  have 
been  wisely  devoted  to  the  importance  of  allowing  the 
posterior  parts  of  the  foot  to  rest  on  the  ground  with- 
out the  intervention  of  the  shoe." 

Again  we  select  from  Lafosse's  work :  — 

"It  is  useful  and  even  necessary  to  put  short  shoes  on 
all  flat  feet,  particularly  on  those  which  have  the  form 
of  an  oyster-shell.  Every  flat  foot  has  low  heels ;  but 
Nature,  to  remedy  this  defect,  bestows  a  large  frog  to 
preserve  these  parts.  We  ought  not,  then,  to  pare 
the  soles,  much  less  cut  them  out  towards  the  heels ; 
neither  should  the  hoofs  be  too  much  rasped :  all  these 
practices  are  so  many  abuses  which  bring  about  the 
destruction  of  the  horse's  feet.  The  first  abuse  — 
hollowing  out  the  heels  — is  to  destroy  the  horn  which 
forms  the  bars,  and  prevents  the  heels  and  quarters 
from  contracting:  the  second  abuse — rasping  the 
foot  —  is  to  destroy  the  strength  of  the  hoof,  and,  con- 
sequently, to  cause  its  horn  to  become  dry,  and  the 
horny  laminae  beneath  to  grow  weak :  from  this  often 

17 


258  THE   PERFECT   HORSE. 

arises  an  internal  inflammation,  which  renders  the  foot 
painful,  and  makes  the  horse  go  lame. 

"  It  ought  to  be  always  remembered,  that  the  more 
a  horse's  foot  is  pared,  so  the  more  do  we  expose  it  to 
accidents.  It  is  depriving  it,  in  the  first  place,  of  a 
defence  that  Nature  has  given  it  against  the  hard  and 
jpointed  substances  it  encounters;  and  in  the  second 
place,  —  and  which  is  ctf  the  utmost  advantage  for  both 
horse  and  rider,  —  in  not  paring  the  sole,  and  only  using 
as  much  of  a  shoe  as  is  necessary  to  protect  the  horn, 
the  animal  will  be  no  longer  liable  to  slip  on  bad  roads 
in  winter  or  summer,  when  they  are  vulgarly  called 
plomhe.,  as  will  be  shown. 

"1.  Causing  a  horse  to  walk  on  the  frog,  and  partly 
on  the  heel,  the  former  is  found  to  be  rasped  by  the 
friction  it  experiences  on  the  earth  and  paved  road, 
and  is  pressed  by  the  weight  of  the  body  into  the  little 
cavities  and  interstices  it  meets. 

"2.  By  its  flexibility,  it  takes  the  imprint  and  the 
contour,  so  to  speak,  of  the  ground  it  comes  into  con- 
tact with ;  so  that  the  foot  rests  on  a  greater  number  of 
parts,  which,  mutually  assisting  each  other,  multiply  the 
points  of  support,  and  thereby  give  the  animal  more 
adherence  to  the  surface  on  which  he  moves.  We  may 
even  say  that  he  acquires  a  kind  of  feeling  in  this  part, 
through  its  correspondence  with  the  fleshy  sole,  and  from 
this  to  the  tendon,  —  a  feeling  that  I  will  not  compare 
with  that  we  experience  when  we  walk  with  naked 
feet,  but  which  is   yet  sufficient  to  warn   him   of  the 


THE   horse's   foot,    AND   HOW   TO   SHOE  IT.  259 

counterpoise  he  ought  to  give  to  his  body  to  maintain 
its  equiHbrium,  and  so  preserve  him  from  falHng,  twist- 
ing, or  stumbhng. 

"The  object  of  shoeing,  by  him  who  first  resorted  to 
it,  would  only  be  as  a  preservative  and  a  defence,  as 
much  for  the  wall  as  for  the  sole.  But  he  would  not 
add  the  condition  of  paring  either  the  one  or  the  other, 
I  do  not  say  to  our  excess,  but  in  any  way  whatever; 
because  this  would  be  contrary  to  his  principle,  and 
would  destroy  his  work. 

"  This  precaution  (paring)  can  only  be  recommended 
in  cases  where  the  horn  is  rugged,  and  the  shoe  does 
not  rest  on  it  everywhere  equally,  thus  opposing  its 
solidity.  In  such  a  case  it  is  right ;  but  otherwise  it  is  a 
contradiction  and  an  absurdity.  I  have  often  questioned 
those  amateur  horsemen  who  were  particularly  careful 
to  have  their  horses'  feet  pared ;  but  none  of  them  could 
demonstrate  either  its  necessity  or  propriety.  .  .  .  The 
horny  sole  receives  its  nourishment  from  the  vascular 
sole :  its  softness  and  pliancy  are  due  to  its  thickness ; 
and  its  nourishment  is  diminished,  while  it  becomes 
harder,  in  direct  proportion  to  the  thinness  we  give  it. 
We  even  see  horses,  whose  soles  are  pared,  habitually 
lame.  The  air,  when  the  sole  is  in  this  state  of  thin- 
ness, penetrates  and  dries  it  to  such  a  degree,  that,  if 
care  is  not  taken  to  keep  it  damp  when  the  animal  is  in 
a  dry  place,  it  contracts,  and  presses  on  the  vascular 
sole ;  so  that,  if  some  time  after  we  wish  to  pare  the 
sole  again,  it  is  not  possible  to  do  so,  because  it  is  so 


260  THE   PERFECT   HOKSE. 

hard  and  dry  that  the  houtoir  will  not  touch  it,  and  the 
horse  goes  lame.  .  .  .  What  risk  does  a  horse  not  incur 
who  has  nearly  been  deprived  of  his  soles  through  this 
paring!  If  he  encounters  stones,  broken  glass,  or 
nails,  these  easily  penetrate  to  the  sensitive  sole,  and 
cripple  him  for  a  long  time,  if  not  for  ever. 

''When  a  horse  loses  a  shoe, — a  circumstance  fre- 
quently occurring,  —  and  if  the  hoof  is  pared,  the  animal 
cannot  walk  a  hundred  steps  without  going  lame ;  be- 
cause, in  this  state,  the  lower  surface  of  the  foot  being 
hollowed,  the  horse's  weight  falls  on  the  crust ;  and  this, 
having  no  support  from  the  horny  sole,  is  quickly 
broken  and  worn  away;  and,  if  he  meets  hard  sub- 
stances on  the  road,  he  all  the  more  speedily  becomes 
lame.  It  is  not  so  when  the  sole  is  allowed  to  retain  its 
whole  strength.  The  shoe  comes  off;  but  the  sole  and 
frog  rest  on  the  ground,  and  assist  the  crust  in  bearing 
the  greater  part  of  the  weight  of  the  body ;  and  the 
animal,  though  unshod,  is  able  to  pursue  his  journey 
safe  and  sound. 

''It  is  a  fact,  that  every  horse,  except  those  which 
have  the  feet  diseased  and  soles  convex,  and  to  which 
shoes  are  necessary  to  preserve  the  soles,  may  travel 
without  shoes:  and  without  going  for  an  example  to 
the  Arabs,  Tartars,  &c.,  we  will  find  it  among  our  own 
horses,  which,  in  the  country,  work  every  day  without 
requiring  shoes ;  but  as  soon  as  our  wisdom  and  skill  are 
brought  to  bear  in  hollowing  out  the  foot  to  the  quick, 
and  making  a  fine,  equal,  and  symmetrical  frog,  — doing 


THE   horse's   foot,    AND   HOW   TO   SHOE   IT.  2G1 

it  well  and  properly,  as  we  say  in  France,  —  shoes 
become  indispensably  necessary. 

"  I  therefore  ask  all  amateur  horsemen  to  insure  their 
horses  as  much  as  they  can  against  this  pretended  per- 
fection. It  may  be  asked.  What  will  become  of  the 
horny  sole  if  it  is  never  pared  ?  and  it  may  be  feared, 
that,  by  its  growth,  the  foot  will  become  overgrown. 
Not  at  all ;  for,  in  proportion  to  its  growth,  it  dries,  be- 
comes flaky,  and  falls  off  in  layers. 

"  The  compressions  so  dangerous,  which  cause  inflam- 
mation, would  no  more  be  dreaded  if  we  left  the  horn 
of  the  sole,  the  bars,  and  the  frog,  entire.  By  their 
pliability,  thickness,  flexibility,  texture,  and  the  situa- 
tion they  occupy,  they  appear  to  be  solely  destined  by 
Nature  to  serve  as  a  defence  to  the  vascular  sole,  as  the 
frog  particularly  acts  as  a  cushion  to  the  tendon  Achilles ; 
all  being  disposed  to  obviate  shock  on  paved  roads, 
or  injury  from  a  stone,  splinter,  &c. 

''It  is  necessary  to  be  convinced  of  another  fact:  this 
is,  that  it  is  rare  that  a  horse  goes  at  his  ease,  and  is 
not  promptly  fatigued,  if  the  frog  does  not  touch  the 
ground.  As  it  is  the  only  point  of  support,  if  you 
raise  it  from  the  ground  by  paring  it,  there  arises  an 
inordinate  extension  of  the  tendon,  caused  by  the  push- 
ing of  the  coronary  against  the  navicular  bone,  as  has 
been  mentioned  above,  and  which,  being  repeated  at 
every  step  the  animal  takes,  fatigues  it,  and  induces  in- 
flammation. From  thence  often  arises  the  distention  of 
the  sheaths  of  tendons  (inolettes ;   vulgo^  '  windgalls '), 


262  THE   PERFECT    HORSE. 

engorgements,  and  swelling  of  the  tendons,  &c.,  that  are 
observed  after  long  or  rapid  journeys.  These  accidents 
arise  less  from  the  length  of  the  journey,  as  has  been 
currently  believed,  than  from  the  false  practice  of  par- 
ing the  sole. 

"I  am  astonished  that  this  method  of  shoeing  has 
not  been  employed  long  ago ;  and  I  have  much  trouble 
in  persuading  myself  that  I  am  the  inventor.  I  am 
more  inclined  to  believe  that  it  is  only  a  copy  of  that 
which  has  been  practised  by  the  first  artist  who  thought 
about  shoeing  horses. 

"  If  my  suspicions  are  correct,  the  oblivion  into 
which  it  has  fallen  proves  nothing  against  its  perfection, 
because  the  good  as  well  as  the  bad  are  alike  liable  to 
be  forgotten.  The  multitude,  more  credulous  than  en- 
lightened, are  easily  persuaded:  hence  the  long,  thick 
shoes,  those  with  calkins,  then  with  thick  heels,  and 
afterwards  the  thin.  There  is  every  reason  to  believe, 
that,  if  the  poor  animals  for  whom  all  this  has  been  done 
could  be  allowed  to  speak  as  they  must  think,  nothing 
of  the  kind  would  have  taken  place,  and  they  would 
have  preferred  their  ancient  armature,  which,  having 
only  been  designed  to  preserve  the  crust,  had  certainly 
none  of  the  inconveniences  of  that  employed  now-a- 
days." 

Fleming,  at  the  close  of  his  review  of  Lafosse, 
says,  — 

''  Lafosse's  experience  of  this  admirable  mode  of  pro- 
tecting, while  preserving,  the  foot,  was  derived  from  a 


THE  horse's   foot,   AND    HOW   TO   SHOE  IT.  263 

trial  of  its  advantages  on  more  than  eighteen  hundred 
horses;  and  his  success  was  most  astonishing,  though 
no  more  than  might,  on  reflection,  be  anticipated." 

Lafosse  goes  on  to  observe,  — 

"  These  short  shoes,  thin  at  the  heels,  have  caused 
the  horses  to  walk  on  their  frogs,  which  are  their  points 
of  support ;  and  those  which  were  lame  at  the  heels  are 
sound  again;  those  also  whose  inside  quarters  were 
contracted,  bent  over,  and  split  (sand-crack),  have  been 
cured.  It  has  been  the  same  with  horses  whose  quar- 
ters and  heels  have  been  contracted  (encastele)  :  these 
have  been  widened,  and  have  assumed  a  proper  shape. 
The  same  may  be  said  of  those  whose  soles  were  con- 
vex (comble)^  and  which  went  lame  with  long  shoes. 
My  method  has  also  preserved  those  horses  which  had  a 
tendency  to  thrush  (vulgo^  Jic)  and  canker  of  the  frog 
(crapaud). 

"  If  the  horse  be  shod  with  calkins,  there  is  a  great 
space  between  the  frog  and  the  ground ;  the  weight  of 
the  body  comes  on  the  calkins ;  the  frog,  which  is  in  the 
air,  cedes  to  the  weight ;  the  tendon  is  elongated ;  and, 
if  the  horse  makes  a  violent  and  sudden  movement,  the 
rupture  of  that  organ  is  almost  inevitable,  because  the 
frog  cannot  reach  the  ground  to  support  it  in  the  very 
place  it  ought  to ;  and,  if  the  tendon  does  not  break,  the 
horse  is  lame  for  a  long  time  from  the  great  exten- 
sion of  the  fibres,  some  of  which  may  have  been  rup- 
tured. ...  If  the  horse  be  shod  without  heels  to  his 
shoes  (eponges)^  the  frog,  which  carries  all  the  weight 


264:  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

of  the  horse's  body,  yields  at  each  step,  and  returns 
again  to  its  original  form.  The  tendon  is  never  in  a 
state  of  distraction :  its  fibres  are  no  longer  suceptible 
of  violent  distention  during  a  sudden  movement.  I 
will  go  so  far  as  to  assert  that  rupture  of  the  tendon 
will  never  occur  on  a  flat  pavement :  if  it  does,  it  will 
be  in  the  space  between  two  paving-stones.  Two 
things  clearly  follow  from  what  I  have  said,  —  that  it 
may  happen  that  the  tendon  Achilles  sustains  all  the 
different  degrees  of  violence  that  can  be  imagined,  from 
total  rupture  to  the  smallest  abrasion  of  its  fibres,  which 
will  cause  the  horse  to  go  lame  ;  and  it  is  on  the  frog 
alone  that  all  these  different  degrees  depend,  as  has 
been  demonstrated  more  particularly  in  the  history  of 
fracture  of  the  navicular  bone  and  the  anatomy  of 
the  foot.  My  new  shoeing,  I  repeat,  has  nothing  to 
oppose  it  but  prejudice.  Anatomy,  which  has  made 
known  to  me  the  structure  of  the  foot,  has  demonstrated 
all  its.  advantages,  and  experience  has  fully  confirmed 
them." 

Fleming,  who  quotes  essentially  the  same  as  the  fore- 
going, well  says,  at  the  conclusion  of  the  quotation,  — 

"  I  regret  extremely  that  our  limits  forbid  my  trans- 
lating at  greater  length  from  this  splendid  monograph ; 
but  I  hope  that  I  have  been  able,  to  some  extent,  to 
show  that  Lafosse's  ideas  on  shoeing  were  founded  on 
sound  anatomical  and  physiological  principles,  the  result 
of  close  observation  and  experience.  And  yet  they  ap- 
pear to  have  made  but  little  progress  in  the  face  of  the 


THE   horse's   foot,    AND   HOW   TO   SHOE   IT.  265 

opposition  offered  by  ignorant  grooms  and  farriers,  who 
were  incompetent  to  understand  any  thing  but  the  mere 
every-day  routine  of  the  rapidly-degenerating  art ;  and 
the  prejudice  of  those  amateur  horsemen,  who,  though 
the  last  perhaps  to  take  upon  trust  statements  relative 
to  other  matters,  would  yet  believe  every  thing  told 
them  by  these  horse  attendants  and  shoers.  The  far- 
riers of  Paris,  indeed,  unanimously  protested  against  the 
innovation  two  years  after  Lafosse  had  published  his 
treatise ;  and  their  protest  appears  to  have  carried  the 
mind  of  the  crowd." 

I  presume  that  the  same  experience  will  be  met  in 
case  of  those  authors,  who,  like  myself,  seek  to  bring 
forward  these  wise  and  salutary  principles  in  farriery. 
I  fear  that  popular  ignorance,  stupidity,  and  wilfulness 
will  resist  the  introduction  of  all  improvement  in  this 
matter;  and,  for  a  while  longer,  man  and  horse  will 
continue  to  suffer.  I  am  inclined,  in  this  connection,  to 
quote  from  W.  Osmer's  '^  Treatise  on  the  Diseases  and 
Lameness  of  Horses"  (London,  1776).  After  warning 
farriers  not  to  remove  any  thing  more  of  the  crust  or 
wall  of  the  hoof  than  is  absolutely  necessary,  he  says,  — 

''  Li  all  broad,  fleshy  feet,  the  crust  is  thin,  and 
should,  therefore,  suffer  the  least  possible  loss.  On  such 
feet  the  rasp  alone  is  generally  sufficient  to  make  the 
bottom  plain,  and  produce  a  sound  foundation,  ivitli' 
out  the  use  of  the  desperate  buttress.  .  .  . 

''  The  superficies  of  the  foot  round  the  outside  now 
made  plain  and  smooth,  the  shoe  is  to  be  made  quite 


266  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

flat^  of  an  equal  thickness  all  round  the  outside,  and 
open  and  most  narrow  backwards,  at  the  extremities 
of  the  heels,  for  the  generality  of  horses.  Those 
whose  frogs  are  diseased,  either  from  natural  or  inci- 
dental causes,  require  the  shoe  to  be  wider  backwards ; 
and,  to  prevent  this  flat  shoe  from  pressing  on  the  sole 
of  the  horse,  the  outer  part  thereof  is  to  be  made 
thickest,  and  the  inside  gradually  thinner.  In  such  a 
shoe  the  frog  is  admitted  to  touch  the  ground,  the 
necessity  of  which  has  been  already  shown :  add  to 
this,  the  horse  stands  more  firmly  on  the  ground, 
having  the  same  points  of  support  as  in  a  natural  state. 
Here,  now,  is  a  plain,  easy  method,  agreeable  to  common 
sense  and  reason,  conformable  to  the  anatomical  struc- 
ture of  the  parts,  and  therefore  to  the  design  of  Nature, 
—  a  method  so  plain,  that  one  would  think  nobody 
could  ever  swerve  from  it,  or  commit  any  mistake  in 
an  art  where  nothing  is  required  but  to  make  smooth 
the^  surface  of  the  foot,  to  know  what  loss  of  crust 
each  kind  of  foot  will  bear  with  advantage  to  itself, 
and  to  nail  thereon  a  piece  of  iron  adapted  to  the 
natural  tread  of  the  horse ;  the  design,  good,  or  use 
of  the  iron  being  only  to  defend  the  crust  from  break- 
ing,—  the  sole  luantinrj  no  defence^  if  never  imred.  .  .  . 

"  The  modern  artist  uses  little  dilTerence  in  the  treat- 
ment of  any  kind  of  foot,  but,  with"  a  strong  arm  and 
a  sharp  weapon,  carries  all  before  him,  and  will  take 
more  from  a  weak-footed  horse  at  one  paring  than 
Nature  can  furnish  again  in  some  months,  whereby  such 


THE   horse's   foot,   AND   HOW  TO   SHOE  IT.  267 

are  rendered  lame.  If  a  strong-footed  horse,  with 
narrow  and  contracted  heels,  be  brought  before  him, 
such  meets  with  treatment  yet  more  severe.  The  bar 
is  scooped  out,  the  frog  trimmed,  and  the  sole  drawn 
as  thin  as  possible,  even  to  the  quick,  under  pretence 
of  giving  him  ease,  because,  he  says,  he  is  hot- 
footed, or  foundered;  by  which  treatment  the  horse 
is  rendered  more  lame  than  he  was  before." 
Fleming,  in  quoting  Osmer,  observes,  — 
^'  This  causes  contraction  of  the  hoof,  and  compression 
of  the  parts  within ;  and,  besides,  a  shoe  was  applied 
thin  on  the  outer  circumference,  and  thick  on  the  inner, 
which  being  concave  to  the  foot,  and  convex  to  the 
ground,  afforded  but  few  points  of  support,  removed  the 
frog  from  pressure,  and  caused  great  mischief.  I  pos- 
sess some  specimens  of  this  terrible  instrument  of  last- 
century  barbarism.  It  almost  makes  one  shudder  to 
think  of  the  fearful  agony  the  poor  horses  must  have 
suffered  when  compelled  to  wear  and  work  with  it." 

Osmer  concludes:  "Let  the  shoe  on  every  horse  stand 
wider  at  the  points  of  the  heels  than  the  foot  itself: 
otherwise,  as  the  foot  grows  in  length,  the  heel  of  the 
shoe  in  a  short  time  gets  within  the  heel  of  the  horse ; 
which  pressure  often  breaks  the  crust,  and  produces 
a  temporary  lameness,  perhaps  a  corn.  Let  every  kind 
of  foot  be  kept  as  short  at  the  toe  as  possible  (so  as  not 
to  affect  the  quick) ;  for,  by  a  long  toe,  the  foot  becomes 
thin  and  weak,  the  heels  low,  and  the  flexor  tendons 
of  the  leg  are  strained.     The  shortness  of  the  toe  helps, 


268  THE  PERFECT  HORSE. 

also,  to  widen  the  narrow  heels.  In  all  thin,  weak- 
footed  horses,  the  rasp  should  be  laid  on  the  toe  in  such 
a  manner  as  to  render  it  as  thick  as  may  be  ;  by  which 
means  the  whole  foot  becomes  gradually  thicker, 
higher,  and  stronger.  In  all  feet  whose  texture  is  very 
strong,  the  rasp  may  be  laid  obliquely  on  the  fore-part 
of  the  foot,  towards  the  toe,  and  the  toe  itself  thinned, 
whereby  the  compression  on  the  parts  is  rendered 
somewhat  less  by  diminishing  the  strength  of  the  hoof, 
or  crust. 

''  But  this  rasp  is  to  be  used  with  discretion,  lest,  the 
crust  being  too  thin,  and  not  able  to  support  the 
weight  of  the  horse,  a  sand-crack  ensue ;  which  fre- 
quently happens  from  too  free  or  unskilful  use  of  this 
tool,  and  from  the  natural  rigid  texture  of  the  coronet. 
The  heel  of  the  shoe  on  all  strong  and  narrow-heeled 
horses  should  be  made  straight  at  the  extreme  points ; 
the  form  of  the  shoe  in  some  measure  helping  to  dis- 
tend the  heel  of  the  horse.  For  the  same  reason,  the 
shoe  on  no  horse  should  be  continued  farther  than  the 
point  of  the  heel.  It  has  been  already  said,  that  neither 
frog  nor  sole  should  ever  be  pared :  nevertheless,  it 
must  be  understood  that  it  is  impossible  to  pare  the 
crust  without  taking  away  some  of  the  adjacent  sole ; 
and  it  is  also  requisite  —  in  order  to  obtain  a  smooth  and 
even  surface  —  so  far  as  the  breadth  of  the  shoe  reaches, 
and  no  farther.  The  frog,  also,  will  become  ragged ;  and 
loose  pieces  will  occasionally  separate  from  the  body 
thereof,   perhaps   in   one   foot,   and  not   in  the   other. 


THE  horse's   foot,   AND   HOW  TO   SHOE  IT.  26& 

When  this  happens,  it  should  be  cut  away  with  a  knife, 
to  prevent  the  gravel  lodging  therein;  but,  if  it  be 
left  to  the  artist  to  do,  he  will  be  sure  to  take  away- 
more  of  it  at  one  time  than  will  grow  again  in  many 
weeks." 

Some  twenty  years  after  Osmer  published  his  protest 
against  treating  the  horse's  foot  as  if  it  were  a  block 
of  wood  on  which  a  man  could  hack  and  hew  and  cut 
away  at  pleasure,  Mr.  J.  Clark  published  a  treatise 
upon  farriery,  in  which  he  says,  — 

"However  necessary  it  has  been  found  to  fix  iron 
shoes  upon  the  hoofs  of  horses,  it  is  certainly  contrary 
to  the  original  design  of  shoeing  them,  first  to  destroy 
their  hoofs  by  paring,  &c.,  and  afterwards  to  put  on  the 
foot  a  broad,  strong  shoe  to  protect  what  remains,  or 
rather  to  supply  the  defect  or  want  of  that  substance 
which  has  been  taken  away.  Yet,  however  absurd  this 
manner  of  treating  the  feet  of  horses  may  appear,  it  is 
well  known  that  it  has  been  carried  to  a  very  great 
length,  and  still  continues  to  be  thought  absolutely 
necessary.  The  destruction  of  their  hoofs,  and  many 
other  bad  consequences  arising  from  it,  are  every  day 
but  too  apparent." 

And  also  this,  which  might  be  regarded  as  descrip- 
tive of  the  state  of  things  :  — 

"But  no  apology  whatever  can  vindicate  that  per- 
nicious practice  of  cutting  and  paring  their  hoofs  to  that 
excess  which  is  but  too  frequently  done  every  time  a 
horse  is  shoed,  and,  in  order  to  repair  the  injury  done  to 


270  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

the  foot,  fix  on  it  a  strong,  broad-brimmed  shoe,  from 
the  very  construction  of  which,  together  with  the  loss 
of  its  natural  defence,  horses  too  frequently  are  ren- 
dered totally  useless.  ...  In  preparing  the  foot  for  the 
shoe,  the  frog,  the  sole,  and  the  bars,  or  binders,  are 
pared  so  much,  that  the  blood  frequently  appears.  The 
shoe,  by  its  form,  —  being  thick  on  the  inside  of  the 
rim,  and  thin  upon  the  outside,  —  must,  of  consequence, 
be  made  concave,  or  hollow,  on  that  side  which  is 
placed  immediately  next  the  foot,  in  order  to  prevent 
its  resting  on  the  sole.  The  shoes  are  generally  of  an 
immoderate  weight  and  length ;  and  every  means  is 
used  to  prevent  the  frog  from  resting  upon  the  ground 
by  making  the  shoe-heels  thick,  broad,  and  strong, 
or  raising  cramps,  or  calkins,  on  them.  From  this 
form  of  the  shoe,  and  from  this  method  of  treating 
the  hoof,  the  frog  is  raised  to  a  considerable  height 
above  the  ground ;  the  heels  are  deprived  of  that  sub- 
stance which  was  provided  by  Nature  to  keep  the  crust 
extended  at  a  proper  wideness;  and  the  foot  is  fixed, 
as  it  were,  in  a  mould.  ...  If  we  attend  further  to  the 
convex  surface  of  this  shoe,  and  the  convexity  of  the 
pavement  upon  which  horses  walk,  it  will  then  be  evi- 
dent that  it  is  impossible  for  them  to  keep  their  feet 
from  slipping,  especially  upon  declivities  of  streets.  It  is 
also  a  common  practice,  especially  in  this  place,  to  turn 
up  the  heels  of  the  shoes  into  what  is  called  cramps,  or 
calkins,  by  which  means  the  weight  of  the  horse  is  con- 
fined to  a  very  narrow  surface,  —  the  inner  round  edge 


THE  HORSE  S   FOOT,   AND   HOW   TO   SHOE   IT.  271 

of  the  shoe-rim,  and  the  points,  or  calkins,  of  each  heel. 
The  consequence  is,  that  it  throws  the  weight  of  the 
body  forward  upon  the  toes,  and  is  apt  to  make  the 
horse  slip  and  stumble. 

*' Farriers,  in  general,  are  too  desirous  to  excel  one 
another  in  making  what  is  termed  fine,  neat  work ;  and 
that  is  no  other  than  paring  the  sole  till  it  yields  easily 
under  the  pressure  of  the  thumb :  and,  to  give  the  frog 
a  fine  shape,  it  is  frequently  pared  till  the  blood  appears ; 
to  prevent  the  eifusion  of  which,  the  actual  cautery  is 
sometimes  applied.  It  is  to  be  observed,  that,  when  the 
sole  is  so  much  pared,  it  dries  and  hardens  in  proportion 
as  it  is  thinned;  and  the  strong,  horny  substance  of  the 
crust,  overcoming  the  resistance  from  the  sole,  is  thereby 
contracted.  This  will  produce  lameness,  the  real  cause  of 
which  is  overlooked,  or  little  attended  to.  Among  the 
many  disadvantages  that  attend  the  common  shoes,  one 
is  their  being  more  liable  to  be  pulled  off,  from  their 
great  weight,  length,  &c.,  especially  in  deep  ground,  in 
riding  fast,  or  when  the  toe  of  the  hinder  foot  strikes 
against  the  heel  of  the  fore-shoe.  To  prevent  this  in- 
convenience, sixteen  or  eighteen  nails  are  frequently 
made  use  of,  which  destroy  and  weaken  the  crust  by 
their  being  placed  too  near  one  another ;  and  it  is  not 
uncommon,  when  a  shoe  nailed  in  this  manner  is  pulled 
off,  that  the  crust  on  the  outside  of  the  nails  breaks 
away  with  it.  If  this  should  happen  a  few  days  after 
the  foot  has  been  so  finely  pared  (which  is  not  unusual), 
or  upon  a  journey,  and  at  a  distance  from  any  place 


272  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

where  a  shoe  maj  be  immediately  procured,  the  horse 
instantly  becomes  lame  from  the  thinness  of  the  sole  and 
weakness  of  the  crust,  and  is  hardly  able  to  support 
the  weight  of  his  own  body,  much  less  that  of  his  rider." 

This,  also,  must  have  been  prophetic  in  its  application 
to  our  times  :  — 

"  So  much  are  farriers,  grooms,  &c.,  prejudiced  in 
favor  of  the  common  method  of  shoeing  and  paring  out 
the  feet,  that  it  is  with  difficulty  they  can  even  be  pre- 
vailed upon  to  make  a  proper  trial  of  it.  They  cannot 
be  satisfied  unless  the  frog  be  finely  shaped,  the  sole 
pared,  the  bars  cut  out,  in  order  to  make  the  heels 
appear  wide.  This  practice  gives  them  a  show  of  wide- 
ness  for  the  time ;  yet  that,  together  with  the  concave 
form  of  the  shoe,  forwards  the  contraction  of  the  heels, 
which,  when  confirmed,  renders  the  animal  lame  for  life. 
In  this  flat  form  of  shoe  its  thickest  part  is  upon  the  out- 
side of  the  rim,  where  it  is  most  exposed  to  be  worn; 
and,  being  made  gradually  thinner  towards  its  inner 
edge,  it  is,  therefore,  much  lighter  than  the  common  con- 
cave shoe,  yet  it  will  last  equally  as  long,  and  with  more 
advantage  to  the  hoof;  and,  as  the  frog  and  heel  are 
allowed  to  rest  upon  the  ground,  the  foot  enjoys  the 
same  points  of  support  as  in  its  natural  state.  It  must, 
therefore,  be  much  easier  for  the  horse  in  his  way  of 
going,  and  be  a  means  of  making  him  surer-footed.  It 
is  likewise  evident  that  from  this  shoe  the  hoof  cannot 
acquire  any  bad  form,  when  at  the  same  time  it  receives 
every  advantage  that  possibly  could  be  expected  from 


THE  horse's  foot,   AND  HOW  TO   SHOE  IT.  273 

shoeing.  In  this  respect  it  may  very  properly  be  said 
that  we  make  the  shoe  to  the  foot,  and  not  the  foot  to 
the  shoe,  as  is  but  too  much  the  case  in  the  concave 
shoes,  where  the  foot  very  much  resembles  that  of  a  cat's 
fixed  in  a  walnut-shell.  ...  I  would  observe,  upon  the 
whole,  that  the  less  substance  we  take  away  from  the 
natural  defence  of  the  foot,  except  on  particular  occa- 
sions which  may  require  it,  the  less  artificial  defence 
will  be  necessary ;  the  flatter  we  make  the  shoe,  we  give 
the  horse  the  more  points  of  support,  and  imitate  the 
natural  tread  of  the  foot ;  therefore,  the  nearer  we  follow 
these  simple  rules,  the  nearer  we  approach  to  perfection 
in  this  art.'' 

I  have  made  these  quotations  —  taken  almost  at  ran- 
dom, from  perhaps,  on  the  whole,  the  three  wisest  teach- 
ers of  the  principles  of  correct  shoeing  and  preserva- 
tion of  the  horse's  foot  that  the  world  has  ever  had  — 
principally  for  the  purpose  of  impressing  those  who 
could  be  impressed  in  no  other  way  than  by  the  accu- 
mulated testimony  of  other  men  with  a  sense  of  the 
great  mischief  and  evil  that  is  done  in  cutting  and  filing 
away  the  frog,  sole,  and  bars  of  the  horse's  foot,  by  the 
retention  of  which,  in  a  natural  state,  the  foot  can  be 
kept  either  strong  or  healthy.  No  form  of  shoe  can  be 
so  vicious  as  to  do  such  mischief  and  injury  to  the  foot 
as  the  present  paring  and  cutting  system  ;  nor  can  any 
shoe  be  so  good  in  its  conformation  as  to  remedy  those 
ills  that  knife  and  buttress  have  occasioned. 

The  truth  is,  we  should  do  little  or  nothing  to  the 

18 


274  THE  PERFECT  HORSE. 

horse's  foot,  save  to  level  it  for  the  reception  of  the 
shoe.  Nature,  it  should  be  remembered,  works  after  a 
perfect  model,  —  for  I  am  not  speaking  of  disease, —  and 
the  perfect  cannot  be  improved  by  any  assistance  from 
us.  Were  it  not  for  the  fact  that  our  roads  are  too 
hard  for  the  foot  to  endure  service  on  them  unprotected, 
it  were  well  not  to  shoe  at  all ;  and,  if  we  must  shoe, 
shoe  only  so  much  as  is  absolutely  necessary.  The  cres- 
cent shoe,  or  "  tips  "  as  they  are  commonly  called,  will, 
during  the  summer  months,  be  sufficient  for  country 
service.  These  tips  are  thin,  narrow  plates  of  iron 
or  steel,  of  some  three  ounces  in  weight,  shaped  to 
fit  the  toe  of  the  foot,  and  to  reach  round  a  little  on 
either  side.  The  object  of  these  tips  is  simply  to 
protect  the  front  portion  of  the  foot  from  being 
too  rapidly  worn  away.  They  leave  the  quarters, 
sole,  frog,  bars,  and  heels  entirely  unprotected,  save  as 
Nature  provides.  They  are  a  most  excellent  form  of 
shoe.  I  speak  from  experience,  and  not  from  theory 
alone.  I  have  used  horses  of  eleven  hundred  pounds 
weight,  in  farm-work  and  ordinary  fxmily  service,  on 
the  road,  for  months  together,  with  no  protection  to 
their  feet  save  these  tips,  and  found  that  their  feet, 
which,  at  the  beginning  of  the  experiment,  were  in  a 
most  unsatisfactory  condition,  grew  strong  and  well ; 
and  I  recommend  this  form  of  shoeing  to  all  my  read- 
ers whose  horses  are  exercised  or  worked  in  the  coun- 
try. Indeed,  I  am  under  the  impression  that  the  feet 
of  many  horses  would  need  no  other  protection  even 


THE  horse's  foot,   AND   HOW  TO   SHOE  IT.  275 

for  city  service.  It  is  astonishing  how  fast  the  foot  will 
develop  and  increase  when  once  brought  m  contact 
with  the  ground.  Take  olT  those  high-heeled  shoes 
from  your  horse,  friend,  which  you  have  caused  to  be 
put  on  him  in  order  to  keep  his  frog  from  the  ground, 
and  let  it  come  in  contact  with  the  ground  at  every 
step.  For  a  few  days,  or  even  for  a  few  weeks,  your 
horse  may  favor  himself  somewhat :  but  Nature  will 
soon  accommodate  herself  to  the  new  liberty  granted 
her;  viz.,  the  liberty  of  helping  herself  She  will  soon 
build  up  a  frog  such  as  you  never  saw  in  your  life,  most 
likely,*  —  a  large,  overlapping  pad  of  gutta-percha-like 
substance,  wide  and  thick,  that  feels  no  more  the  con- 
cussion, when  brought  in  contact  with  the  stone  pave- 
ment, than  the  buffer  under  a  rail-car  feels  the  jolts  as 
the  train  is  being  whirled  along. 

Now,  in  respect  to  the  full  shoe,  the  first  error  in 
common  practice  to  be  noticed  is,  that  it  is  too  wide  and 
thick.  The  lighter  the  shoe  the  better,  should  be  the 
rule.  A  horse  is  never  so  sprightly  and  pliant  in 
motion,  so  unlikely  to  stumble,  or  swift  in  movement, 
as  when  enjoying  the  liberty  of  nature.  There  is  no 
sense  or  reason  for  the  heavy,  wide-webbed,  long- 
hccled  shoes  so  common  with  us.  These  are  the  spe- 
cific points  of  a  good  shoe,  as  I  understand  the  matter  : 
The  shoe  should  be  narrow,  perfectly  flat  on  the  upper 
surface, — bevelled  shoes  are  a  nuisance,  —  light,  thin  at 
the  heels,  its  ground-surface  concave,  and  just  as  large 
as  the  foot.     Such  a  shoe  may  be  regarded  as  a  model. 


f 

276  THE  PERFECT  HORSE. 

Fleming  is  altogether  right  in  the  following  description, 
when  he  says,  — 

"  Pattern  of  Shoe  recommended.  —  If  the  sole  of  the 
hoof  has  not  been  mutilated  by  the  knife,  it  does  not 
require  to  be  covered  by  the  shoe,  as  Nature  has  fur- 
nished an  infinitely  better  protection.  Wide-surface 
shoes  can,  therefore,  be  at  once  dispensed  with ;  and  a 
narrow  shoe — made  of  the  very  best  and  toughest  iron, 
adapted  for  travelling  on  slippery  roads,  and  for  aiding 
foot  and  limb,  and  sufficient  to  withstand  wear  for  four  or 
five  weeks — is  all  that  is  required.  We  will  therefore 
conclude  that  the  upper  or  foot  surface  should  be  the 
whole  width  of  the  shoe,  and  plane,  —  not  bevelled,  — 
for  we  have  seen  that  the  sole  was  destined,  particu- 
larly at  its  junction  with  the  wall  in  front,  to  sustain 
weight.  We  also  know  that  it  is  advantageous  to  the 
whole  foot  and  limb  to  allow  the  sole  as  wide  and 
general  a  bearing  as  possible,  so  that  one  part  may 
relieve  the  other ;  the  sole  coming  to  the  aid  of  the 
wall,  and  the  frog  interposing  to  share  the  fatigue  im- 
posed upon  both,  as  well  as  to  relieve  the  strain  on  the 
hinder-parts  of  the  foot,  flexor  tendons,  and  limb,  and 
keep  a  firm  grasp  of  the  ground  by  its  elastic  and  adhe- 
sive properties. 

''  The  shoe  applied  to  the  foot,  then,  should  have  its 
hoof-surface  flat,  in  order  that  it  may  sustain  the  wall 
and  as  much  of  this  strong  portion  of  the  sole  as  its 
width  permits.  This  is  contrary  to  the  usual  practice, 
which  only  allows  the  wall  to  rest  on  a  narrow  surface, 


THE  horse's  foot,    AND   HOW  TO   SHOE  IT.  277 

and  bevels  off  the  remainder  of  the  shoe  to  prevent 
contact  with  the  sole.  Many  years'  experience  of  this 
plane  foot-surfaced  shoe  in  various  regions  of  the  globe, 
and  on  feet  of  every  kind  and  quality,  have  proved  the 
soundness  of  this  view.  The  foot  is  brought  as  near  to 
a  state  of  nature,  when  the  greater  part  of  its  plantar 
surface  supports  the  weight  of  the  body,  as  man  can 
hope  to  achieve  while  submitting  the  horse  to  an  arti- 
ficial existence. 

"  A  light,  thin  shoe  is  always  preferable  to  a  heavy, 
thick  one  ;  as  the  narrowness  of  the  metal  insures  a 
good  foothold,  —  in  this  respect  imitating  the  wall,  — 
while  its  thinness  brings  the  sole,  frog,  and  bars  in 
closer  approximation  to  the  ground." 

The  upper  surface  of  a  shoe  should  be  filed  until  it  is 
perfectly  level  and  smooth.  This,  so  far  as  I  am  able,  I 
invariably  do  for  myself.  A  boot,  the  surface  of  which 
is  not  smooth,  gives  to  the  foot  wearing  it  very  much 
such  a  sensation  as  a  coarsely-hammered-out  shoe  does 
to  the  foot  of  a  horse  Avhen  attached  to  it.  It  should 
never  be  nailed  on  to  the  hoof  until  it  is  smooth  as 
glass.  Such  a  shoe  makes,  in  very  truth,  a  good  fit. 
The  ground-surface  should  be  bevelled  off  along  the 
inner  edge,  thus  imitating  the  convex  surface-shape 
of  the  sole.  The  metal  at  the  toe  should  be  rounded 
off  until  the  new  shoe  resembles  at  the  toe  the  one 
taken  off.  This  is  doing  to  the  shoes  of  horses  what 
the  manufacturer  does  to  our  shoes  when  he  rounds 
them  up  at  the  toe.     This  facilitates  the  action  of  the 


278  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

foot  and  limb,  and,  undoubtedly,  accommodates  Nature. 
I  like  to  have  my  new  shoes  look  at  the  toe  like  the 
old  ones.  What  Nature  has  rounded  off  man  ought  not 
to  make  angular.  As  to  the  nails,  five  are  enough  ;  and 
these,  if  made  of  good  material,  can  be  of  small  size. 
Two  should  be  put  on  the  inside,  immediately  back  of 
the  toe,  and  three  on  the  outside.  This  method  of  nail- 
ing leaves  the  foot  at  liberty  to  enjoy  its  elasticity. 
The  nails  should  be  turned  out  as  quickly  as  possible. 
The  holes  made  by  them  should  never  be  more  than 
half  an  inch  up  into  the  hoof  There  are  several 
reasons  why  a  nail  should  not  be  driven  high  up.  The 
first  is,  the  higher  it  goes,  the  less  thickness  of  wall  is 
there  to  which  to  clinch  it.  The  wall  of  the  hoof,  also, 
has  a  grain  as  truly  as  wood.  Now,  every  one  knows 
that  a  nail  driven  with  the  grain  holds  far  less  tena- 
ciously than  one  driven  across  it ;  and  it  is  this  bring- 
ing-forth  the  point  of  the  nail  quickly  which  is  com- 
patible with  its  being  driven  across  the  grain  of  the 
hoof  A  nail  so  driven  holds  on.  Moreover,  holes  in 
horny  substances  never  grow  up :  they  always  grow 
out  or  down.  Now,  the  higher  the  hole  that  the  nail 
has  made  is  located  in  the  wall  of  the  hoof,  the  longer, 
of  course,  will  the  time  be  that  is  required  to  grow  it 
down  or  out.  This  is  no  trifling  consideration  in  the 
case  where  shoeing  necessarily  is  frequent.  Not  only 
so,  the  multiplicity  of  holes  greatly  weakens  the  wall  of 
the  hoof,  which,  under  our  present  faulty  method  of 
shoeing,  has  to  bear  up  nearly  the  entire  weight  of  the 


THE  horse's  foot,   AND   HOW  TO   SHOE  IT.  279 

horse,  and  is,  therefore,  never  too  strong  at  the  best. 
In  this  connection,  Mr.  Fleming  says,  — 

"  The  shoe  ought  to  be  attached  by  nails  to  those  parts 
of  the  wall  where  the  horn  is  strongest  and  toughest. 
In  the  fore-foot  these  parts  are  in  front,  and  along  the 
sides  to  the  quarters:  there  the  horn  becomes  narrow 
and  thin ;  and  the  nails  find  less  support,  and  are  nearer 
to  the  living  textures.  This  is  more  particularly  the  case 
toward  the  heels,  especially  the  inner  one.  In  the  hind- 
foot  the  wall  is  generally  strong  toward  the  quarters 
and  heel.  These  facts  at  once  give  us  an  indication  as 
to  the  best  position  for  the  nail-holes.  In  the  fore-foot, 
nails  can  be  driven  through  the  wall,  around  the  toe,  as 
far  as  the  inside  quarter,  and  a  little  nearer  the  heel  on 
the  outside.  In  the  hind-foot  they  may  be  driven 
around  the  toe,  and  even  up  to  the  heels,  with  im- 
punity." 

This  should  be  borne  in  mind,  that,  where  few  nails  are 
used,  they  must  be  put  wider  apart.  Some  smiths  drive 
their  nails  in  clusters ;  and  the  result  is,  that  a  small  sec- 
tion of  the  foot  has  to  bear  the  entire  strain.  This  the 
owner  of  every  horse  should  guard  against.  My  im- 
pression is,  that  the  shoe  should  bear  more  heavily  on 
the  toe  and  heel,  and  less  heavily  on  the  quarters.  I 
know  the  custom  is  to  have  the  shoe  set  tight  on  the 
entire  foot  until  you  come  to  the  heels ;  and  then  it  is 
*'  eased,"  or  left  so  that  the  heel  does  not  set  closely 
upon  it.  Now,  my  idea  is  that  the  quarter  is  the 
weakest  point  in  the  wall  of  the  hoof;  and  hence  the 


280  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

shoe  should  be  eased  at  that  point,  and  not  at  the  heel. 
This,  I  believe,  would  save  many  horses  from  quarter- 
crack.  I  suggest  that  the  reader  consider  this,  and  then 
follow  his  own  judgment.  The  nails,  as  I  have  said, 
should  be  quite  small,  and  driven  in  more  gently  than  is 
the  custom.  There  is  no  reason  why  the  smith  should 
strike  a  blow  at  the  little  nail-head  as  strong  as  he 
would  deliver  at  the  head  of  a  spike  in  an  oak-beam. 
The  hoof  of  the  horse  is  not  an  oak-stick,  and  the 
delicately-pointed  and  slenderly-headed  nail  is  not  a 
wrought-iron  spike;  and  yet  you  will  see  the  nailer 
whack  away  at  them  as  if  it  was  a  matter  of  life  and 
death  to  get  them  entirely  set  in  at  two  blows  of  his 
hammer.  Insist  that  the  nailer  shall  drive  his  nails 
slowly  and  steadily,  instead  of  using  violence.  In  this 
ease,  if  his  nail  is  badly  pointed  and  gets  out  of  the 
proper  line  of  direction,  no  great  injury  is  done.  It 
can  be  withdrawn,  and  a  new  one  substituted,  without 
harm  having  been  done  the  foot.  But  the  swift,  blind, 
and  violent  way  prevents  all  such  care,  and  exposes 
the  horse  to  temporary  if  not  permanent  injury.  The 
heads  should  be  no  larger  than  the  groove,  or  notch, 
which  receives  them.  If  these  are  not  large  enough 
to  be  sunk  in,  then  that  portion  of  the  head  which 
protrudes  should  be  rasped  or  filed  down  level  with 
the  shoe.  Gentleness  should  be  exercised  in  clinching 
the  nail.  Never  allow  a  smith  to  touch  a  rasp  to  the 
outer  surftice  of  the  hoof  Nature  has  covered  it  with 
a  thin  filament  of  enamel,  the  object  of  which  is  to  pro- 


THE  HOKSE's  foot,   AND   HOW  TO   SHOE  IT.  281 

tect  the  inner  membrane  and  fibre  from  exposure  to 
water  or  atmosphere.  This  enamel  is  exactly  what 
Nature  puts  on  to  the  surface  of  your  finger-nail,  reader. 
Under  no  circumstances  should  it  ever  be  touched.  If 
it  is  removed,  Nature  will  be  wickedly  deprived  of  her 
needed  covering,  and  cruelly  left  exposed  to  the  ele- 
ments. 

In  respect  to  applying  the  shoe  to  the  foot,  two  meth- 
ods are  in  vogue,  —  hot  and  cold  fitting,  as  they  are 
called.  Which  is  the  better,  I  am  free  to  say,  I  have  not 
decided.  The  weight  of  authority  is  nearly  the  same 
in  either  scale.  The  advocates  of  cold  fitting  declare 
that  they  can  fit  a  shoe  with  rasp  and  file  as  evenly  as 
the  necessities  of  the  case  require,  and  that  this  can 
be  done  at  no  great  cost  of  time  or  skill.  They,  more- 
over, charge  that  both  reason  and  analogy  are  in  oppo- 
sition to  burning  a  horny  surface,  and  declare  that  it 
honeycombs  the  wall  of  the  foot,  and  prevents  its 
natural  and  healthy  growth.  The  disciples  of  hot  fit- 
ting, on  the  other  hand,  declare  that  few  men  can  level 
the  foot,  or  so  hammer  and  file  the  shoe  that  the  fit  shall 
be  what  is  required ;  and  that  only  by  burning  can  the 
connection  between  steel  and  horn  be  made  sufficient- 
ly close  and  solid.  For  myself,  I  do  not  deny  the 
advantages  of  hot  fitting,  especially  when  your  horse 
must  be  shod  by  rude  and  unskilful  workmen :  still  my 
impression  is,  that,  where  skill  and  time  are  attainable, 
the  cold-fitting  method  is  by  far  the  more  preferable. 
In  order  that  the  reader  may  have  the  hot  method  of 


282  THE  PERFECT   HOKSE. 

fitting  the  shoe  clearly  stated,  I  will  make  the  following 
selection  from  the  same  author  we  have  just  quoted, 
who  is  an  earnest  advocate  of  it,  and  who  has  stated  its 
advantages  more  clearly  than  any  other  writer :  — 

''^Hot  and  Gold  Fitting.  — For  very  many  years,  the  two 
systems  of  fitting  horseshoes  —  in  a  cold  and  a  heated 
condition  —  to  the  hoofs  have  been  extensively  and  se- 
verely tested;  and  the  result  has  been,  that  cold  fitting 
is,  as  a  rule,  only  resorted  to  when  circumstances  prevent 
the  adoption  of  the  other  method,  or  when  the  owner 
of  a  horse,  imagining  that  the  hot  shoe  injures  the  foot, 
incurs  the  risks  attending  a  bad  fit  to  guard  against  his 
imaginary  evil. 

*'It  is  needless,  in  a  brief  essay  like  the  present,  to 
enter  into  a  relation  of  the  observations  and  experi- 
ments which  have  established  the  undoubted  and  great 
superiority  of  what  is  termed  '  hot '  to  '  cold '  fitting. 
These  will  be  found  noticed  at  some  length  in  a  work 
recently  published  by  me,  entitled  '  Horseshoes  and 
Horseshoeing.'  It  may  be  sufficient  to  state  that  the 
evils  supposed  to  result  from  fitting  the  shoes  hot  to  the 
hoofs  are  purely  chimerical.  It  is  true,  when  the  sole  is 
excessively  mutilated,  should  the  farrier  keep  the  heated 
shoe  too  long  in  contact  with  it,  injury  would  doubtless 
follow;  but  this  accident  is  so  exceedingly  rare  as  to  be 
scarcely  ever  known,  even  in  forges  where  shoeing  is 
performed  in  the  most  objectionable  manner.  The  ill 
effects  imagined  to  arise  from  hot  shoeing  can  easily  be 
traced  to  the  operation  of  other  causes,  not  the  least  of 


THE  HORSE  S   FOOT,   AND   HOW  TO   SHOE  IT.  28B 

which  is  the  fashion  of  paring  the  lower  face  of  the 
foot. 

*'The  chief  objections  to  cold  shoeing  are  the  want  of 
solidity;  the  foot  being  made  to  fit  the  shoe,  and  the 
process  being  more  difficult  and  expensive. 

^'The  defective  solidity  is  patent  to  every  one  who  has 
had  any  experience  in  the  matter.  It  is  impossible  to 
level  the  ends  of  the  horn-fibres  so 'accurately  that  they 
will  all  rest  evenly  on  the  surface  of  the  iron :  so,  those 
which  are  most  prominent  soon  giving  way  to  pressure, 
the  bed  of  the  shoe  is  altered ;  and  this,  becoming  loose, 
is  either  lost,  or  we  have  projecting  clinches.  And, 
even  should  the  fibres  be  made  perfectly  level,  wet  soft- 
ens them,  causing  them  to  become  pulpy  and  shorter, 
by  which  means  the  seat  of  the  shoe  is  impaired,  and  the 
nails  lose  their  firm  hold  of  the  wall.  Ample  experience 
on  active  service,  as  well  as  that  gathered  at  home 
during  peace,  has  demonstrated  the  instability  resulting 
from  cold  fitting. 

"Owing  to  the  increased  trouble  and  loss  of  time  in- 
curred by  this  method  in  attempts  to  make  the  shoe  fit 
somewhat  accurately,  but  few  farriers  can  afford  or  are 
willing  to  resort  to  it.  Hence,  when  it  is  practised,  if 
the  shoe  is  at  all  like  the  foot,  it  is  put  on;  and  rasp  and 
knife  insure  the  hoof  being  made  to  fit  it.  This  pro- 
ceeding is  very  injurious. 

"In  hot  fitting  we  have  none  of  these  objections.  The 
shoe  is  very  readily  adapted  to  the  foot:  it  is  more 
equally  applied,  and  rests  solidly  on  the  hoof,  so  that  the 


284  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

nails  are  not  broken  or  displaced  by  the  shoe  becoming 
loose :  in  fine,  there  is  a  more  intimate  contact  between 
the  iron  and  the  surface  of  the  horn.  The  very  fact  of 
burning  or  fusing  the  ends  of  the  fibres  insures  a  solid, 
durable  bed  which  cannot  be  obtained  otherwise,  as  this 
destroys  the  spongy,  absorbent  properties  of  the  horn, 
and  renders  it  eminently  calculated  to  withstand  the 
influence  of  moisture.  The  effects  produced  on  horn  by 
the  hot  iron  have  been  compared  to  those  of  fire  on 
pieces  of  wood  whose  ends  have  been  superficially  car- 
bonized before  being  buried  in  the  ground.  Every  one 
knows  that  this  operation  contributes  to  the  preserva- 
tion of  the  wood  by  preserving  it  from  the  action  of 
humidity. 

"Horn  is  a  very  slow  conductor  of  heat ;  and  it  requires 
a  very  prolonged  application  of  the  hot  shoe  to  affect 
the  hoof  to  any  considerable  depth.  Three  minutes' 
burning  of  the  lower  face  of  the  sole  has  been  found 
necessary  to  produce  any  indication  of  increase  of  tem- 
perature by  the  thermometer  on  its  upper  surface.  It 
is  never  required  that  the  shoe  should  be  applied  longer 
than  a  few  seconds. 

"The  hot  shoe,  in  fusing  the  horn  with  which  it  comes 
in  contact,  imprints  itself  like  a  seal  in  melted  sealing- 
wax;  and  in  this  way  the  two  surfaces  of  foot  and  shoe 
exactly  coincide  ;  while,  no  matter  how  expert  the  work- 
man may  be  in  using  his  tools  to  level  the  horn  in  a  cold 
state,  he  can  never  do  it  so  quickly  or  so  completely  as 
may  be  done  by  making  an  impression  with  the  heated 


THE  horse's   foot,   AND   HOW   TO   SHOE   IT.  285 

shoe,  and  consequently  establishing  between  the  lower 
margin  of  the  hoof  and  the  shoe  an  exact  co-aptation. 

"It  may  be  added,  that,  when  the  surface  of  the  horn 
has  been  softened  by  the  action  of  caloric,  the  nails  enter 
it  more  readily ;  the  clips  and  inequalities  are  more  easily 
embedded ;  and,  when  it  recovers  its  habitual  consistency 
after  cooling,  the  union  between  it  and  the  metallic  parts 
which  are  in  contact  becomes  all  the  more  intimate  be- 
cause of  the  slight  contraction  that  follows  the  expansion 
produced  by  the  heat.  Under  these  conditions,  the  horn 
contracts  on  the  shanks  of  the  nails,  and  retains  them 
most  securely. 

*'A11  the  highest  veterinary  authorities  who  have 
studied  the  subject  are  unanimous  in  recommending  hot 
fitting  in  preference  to  cold.  The  latter  is  only  justifiable 
when  it  is  impossible  to  adopt  the  former.  The  red-hot 
shoe  at  once  disposes  of  those  inequalities  which  cannot 
be  discovered,  or  removed  by  tools ;  and  it  shows  the 
workman  at  a  glance  the  bearing  of  the  shoe  on  the 
hoof,  as  well  as  the  imprint  of  the  nail-holes.  Without 
being  reheated,  any  alteration  can  be  readily  and  at 
once  effected  in  moulding  the  shoe  to  the  shape  of  the 
toe. 

^'The  whole  surface  of  the  shoe  intended  to  be  in  con- 
tact with  the  horn  should  be  distinctly  impressed  on  the 
contour  of  the  hoof,  so  as  to  insure  the  closest  and  most 
accurate  intimacy  between  the  two  ;  and  this  carbonized 
surface  should  not  be  interfered  with  on  any  account, 
except  by  the  rasp,  which  is  only  to  be  employed  in  re- 


286  THE  PERFECT  HORSE. 

moving  any  sharpness  or  inequality  on  the  extreme  edge 
of  the  wall  that  may  have  been  caused  in  fitting. 

^'It  is  necessary  to  bear  in  mind  that  the  shoe  should 
be  fitted  at  a  red  heat.  Its  application  then  need  only 
be  very  brief;  and  it  is  far  more  effective  in  producing 
a  solid  level  surface.  It  ought  not  to  be  applied  at  a 
hlack  heat.  Should  the  margin  of  the  hoof  not  be  suffi- 
ciently levelled  by  the  rasp  before  the  application  of 
the  hot  shoe,  a  slight  contact  of  the  latter  will  show  the 
inequalities ;  and  these  may  then  be  removed  by  rasp  or 
knife.  On  no  occasion  ought  the  shoe  to  remain  longer 
on  the  hoof  than  is  necessary  to  produce  a  solid,  per- 
fectly level  surface." 

If,  after  reading  this  statement,  the  thoughtful  horse- 
man is  not  convinced  touching  the  advantages  of  the 
hot  method,  — and  I  will  confess  that  I  am  not,  — he  will 
doubtless  remain  unconvinced ;  for  no  stronger  state- 
ment of  its  supposed  advantages  has  ever  been  made. 

There  is  but  one  other  point  that  I  need  touch  upon 
in  this  chapter:  it  is  concerning  the  weight  of  shoes. 
The  two  most  desirable  qualities  in  a  shoe  are  lightness 
and  durability.  To  combine  these  qualities,  skill  is 
requisite ;  and  that  is  one  reason  why  so  many  heavy 
shoes  are  forged  out.  Another  reason  is,  because,  when 
so  much  .of  the  horse's  foot  has  been  cut  away  as  is  the 
custom,  it  must  be  replaced  in  the  form  of  metal. 
Hence  shoes  of  great  width  are  made,  — so  wide,  indeed, 
that  they  resemble  the  earliest  specimens  found  in  the 
provinces  of  Constantine, — the  Syrian  shoe,  which  was 


THE   horse's   foot,   AND   HOW  TO   SHOE  IT.  287 

little  better  than  a  solid  plate  of  iron  nailed  to  the 
hoof,  with  a  small  circular  hole  cut  out  in  the  middle. 
This  is  repeating  history  with  a  vengeance.  These 
shoes  are  not  only  wide,  but  thick,  which  makes  them 
even  heavier  than  the  Syrian  shoe.  This  thickness  is 
required,  as  some  say,  in  order  to  protect  the  foot  from 
jar.  Mr.  Miles  favors  this  view,  which  is  enough  to 
make  one  doubt  his  sanity.  Fleming  is  certainly  right 
when  he  says  that  the  flexible  horn  is  the  best  modi- 
fier of  concussion;  and  that  as  the  thickness  of  metal 
increases,  so  does  the  jar.  But  the  greatest  objection 
to  a  heavy  shoe  is  to  be  found  in  the  fact,  that  it  puts 
an  unnatural  and  dangerous  strain  upon  the  muscles 
and  tendons  of  the  limb  bearing  it.  A  French  pro- 
fessor (Bouley)  made  several  years  ago  a  curious  es- 
timate touching  the  muscular  exhaustion  and  fatigue 
resulting  from  the  use  of  heavy  shoes.  I  make  the 
following  quotation :  — 

"  If,  at  the  termination  of  a  day's  work,  we  calculate 
the  weight  represented  by  the  mass  of  heavy  shoes  that 
a  horse  is  condemned  to  carry  at  each  step,  we  arrive 
at  a  formidable  array  of  figures,  and  in  this  way  are  able 
to  estimate  the  amount  of  force  uselessly  expended  by 
the  animal  in  raising  the  shoes  that  surcharge  his  feet. 
The  calculation  I  have  made  possesses  an  eloquence 
that  dispenses  with  very  long  commentaries.  Suppose 
that  the  weight  of  a  shoe  is  1,000  grams :  it  is  not 
excessive  to  admit  that  a  horse  trots  at  the  rate  of  one 
step    every   second,    or   sixty   steps   a  minute.      In  a 


288  THE  PERFECT  HORSE. 

minute,  then,  the  limb  of  a  horse  whose  foot  carries  one 
kilogram  makes  an  effort  necessary  to  raise,  kilogram 
after  kilogram,  a  weight  of  GO  kilograms.  For  the 
four  limbs,  this  weight  in  a  minute  is  represented  by 
60x4  =  240  kilograms;  for  the  four  feet  during  an 
hour  the  weight  is  14,000  kilograms;  and  for  four 
hours,  the  mean  duration  of  a  day's  work  in  these  om- 
nibuses, the  total  amount  of  weight  raised  has  reached 
the  respectable  figure  of  57,000  kilograms.  '  But  the 
movement  communicated  to  these  57,000  kilograms 
represents  an  expenditure  of  power  employed  by  the 
motor  without  any  useful  result ;  and,  as  the  motor  is  a 
living  one,  this  expense  of  strength  represents  an  ex- 
haustion, or,  if  you  like  it  better,  a  degree  of  fatigue, 
proportioned  to  the  effort  necessary  for  its  manifestation. 
This  calculation  is  most  simple,  and  readily  understood. 
It  is  to  be  noted,  nevertheless,  that  I  have  omitted  a 
considerable  fact;  which  is,  that  the  weights  I  have 
tabulated  arc  situated  at  the  extremities  of  the  limbs, 
and  that  the  arms  of  the  levers  on  which  the  muscles 
act  to  raise  them,  being  infinitely  shorter  than  those  of 
the  physiological  resistance  to  which  these  weights  are 
added,  the  intensity  of  their  action  ought,  therefore,  to 
be  singularly  increased.  But  to  measure  this  intensity 
of  action  would  require  a  mathematical  aptitude  which 
I  do  not  possess.  I  will  not,  therefore,  dwell  on  this 
point,  notwithstanding  its  importance ;  and  am  content 
to  signalize  it.  Otherwise,  the  figures  I  present  speak 
for  themselves,  and  tell  us  that  the  diminution  in  the 


THE  horse's   foot,   AND   HOW  TO   SHOE  IT.  289 

weight  of  horse-shoes  is  not  an  accessory  consideration 
so  far  as  the  useful  application  of  the  horse's  strength 
goes." 

In  the  light  of  this  ingenious  calculation,  what  an 
enormous  outlay  of  muscular  strength  it  must  take  in 
the  aggregate,  on  the  part  of  the  American  trotting- 
horse,  to  lift,  with  the  rapidity  required,  the  monstrous 
shoes  which  are  ruthlessly  nailed  to  his  hoof! 

In  respect  to  the  preservation  of  the  horse's  hoof, 
I  would  say  that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  keep  the 
foot  of  the  horse  thoroughly  sound  while  we  keep 
him  standing  continuously  on  wooden  floors.  No  one 
could  persuade  me  to  allow  a  valuable  colt  to  be 
stabled  in  a  stall  the  floor  of  which  is  wood.  It  may 
not  be  amiss  to  state,  at  this  point,  the  fashion,  or  style, 
of  stall-floors  in  my  stables. 

The  dirt  is  first  excavated  to  the  depth  of  two  feet. 
Stones  are  then  put  in  haphazard  until  half  the  pit  is 
filled.  Six  inches  in  depth  of  cobble-stones  are  then 
added;  then  four  inches  of  earth  thrown  in.  Over 
all  this  is  spread  beach-sand  or  bank-gravel  to  the 
depth  of  three  or  four  inches.  This  is  my  model  stall- 
floor.  Its  advantages  are  many.  It  is  cheap.  It 
requires  no  skilled  labor  to  make  it.  Once  made,  it  is 
always  made.  There  are  no  timbers  to  decay,  nor 
planks  to  rot  out.  It  is  never  damp.  The  liquids 
leach  easily  through  it.  Standing  in  such  a  stall,  your 
horses  will  never  have  dried,  contracted  feet;  but 
they  will  be  strictly  in    the  state  of  nature.     In  case 

19 


290  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

that  you  have  a  horse  with  contracted  and  hardened 
hoofs,  scaly  and  brittle,  that  you  must  moisten  and  soak 
out,  do  not  waste  your  money  on  "  patent  stuffing  " 
and  costly  ''dressing"  for  the  feet,  but  take  your 
basket  and  go  down  into  the  swamp,  and  gather  a 
bushel  or  two  of  swamp-moss.  Now  take  boards,  and 
make  a  box  some  three  feet  long  by  two  feet  wide, 
and  six  inches  in  depth.  Fill  this  box  with  moss  well 
moistened  with  water,  and  so  tie  your  horse  that  he  will 
stand  with  his  fore-feet  amid  the  moss.  Do  not  allow 
him  to  stand  more  than  two  or  three  hours  at  a  time 
thus,  lest  the  chemical  action  of  the  moss  should  be  too 
rapid  and  strong.  Watch  its  influence  on  his  feet,  and 
do  as  your  judgment  decides.  In  this  way  the  hardest 
and  flintiest  foot  can  be  rendered  soft  and  yielding 
after  only  a  few  days  of  treatment.  It  is  a  valuable 
recipe  for  such  ills. 

The  publishers'  announcement  warns  me  that  my 
manuscript  has  reached  the  desired  bulk,  and  that  this 
section  of  the  work  must  be  drawn  to  a  close.  My 
object  in  writing  it  has  been  to  quicken  thought,  and 
start  discussion.  Viewed  only  in  this  light  is  it  satis- 
factory even  to  myself  The  conclusion  which  my 
mind  has  reached,  after  all  my  reading  and  investiga- 
tion touching  the  horse's  foot,  may  be  summed  up  in  a 
few  brief  maxims.  Never  touch  the  bars,  frog,  or  sole  of 
the  horse's  foot  with  a  knife,  or  rasp.  Shoe  with  light, 
thin  shoes,  that  allow  the  sole,  bars,  and  frog  to  be 
brought  in  contact  with  the  ground,  and  thus  bear  their 


THE   horse's  foot,   AND  HOW  TO   SHOE  IT.  291 

due  proportion  pf  the  horse's  weight.  Use  small  nails, 
and  not  over  five  of  them.  Never  allow  the  points  to 
be  driven  high  up  in  the  wall  of  the  hoof,  nor  a  rasp 
to  be  touched  to  the  outer  surface.  For  ordinary  ser- 
vice in  the  country  during  the  summer  months,  use 
only  tips,  which  protect  the  toe,  but  leave  the  entire 
ground-surface  of  the  foot  unprotected.  In  brief,  feel 
that  He  who  made  the  horse's  foot  is  wiser  than  you 
are;  and  meddle  with  his  perfect  work  as  little  as 
possible. 


CHAPTER    YIII. 

THE  MORGAN  HORSE:    HIS  RELATION  TO  BREEDING. 

I  DO  not  purpose  to  write  the  history  of  the  Morgan 
horses,  although  to  do  it  would  be  like  writing  the 
history  of  kings.  Lack  of  space,  and  not  lack  of  de- 
sire, denies  me  the  pleasure  of  such  a  task.  Still  it  is  a 
work  that  should  be  done ;  and,  if  no  abler  pen  should 
be  found  to  do  it,  at  some  future  day,  if  life  and  leisure 
be  granted  me,  mine  may  attempt  it.  I  regard  it  as 
nothing  less  than  shame  to  the  horsemen  of  New 
England,  that,  with  the  exception  of  Mr.  Linsley's  book, 
no  effort  has  been  made  to  collect  and  arrange  in  popu- 
lar form  the  material  for  the  history  of  the  most 
remarkable  family  of  horses  that  New JSngland  or  Amer- 
ica has  ever  had.  Indeed,  the  Morgan  family  may  be 
said  to  be  the  only  family  that  has  existed  in  this  coun- 
try as  such. 

Of  Justin  Morgan  alone  can  it  be  said,  that  he  found- 
ed a  family.  Other  horses  there  have  been  of  note, 
and  whose  eminence  was  well  deserved ;  but  they 
passed  away,  and  left  no  sons  so  like  themselves  as  to  be 


MORGAN   HORSE:    HIS  RELATION  TO  BREEDING.        293 

distinctively  theirs.  Messenger  was  a  remarkable  horse ; 
and  America  owes  him  more  than  words  can  express : 
but  Messenger  lacked  one  thing,  —  the  power  to  take  of 
other  bloods,  and  dominate  them,  stamping  them  with 
his  imperial  likeness.  Diomed  was  a  wonderful  animal, 
after  my  way  of  thinking,  ranking  on  a  level  with  Mes- 
senger ;  in  no  respect  inferior.  But  Diomed  lacked  that 
royal  something,  which,  when  existing  in  a  horse,  makes 
all  other  families  tributary  to  himself,  —  that  power  to 
absorb,  and  not  be  absorbed ;  to  allow  turbid  currents 
to  be  mingled  with  the  stream  of  his  life,  and  yet  flow 
on  in  the  same  pure  majesty.  This,  neither  Diomed 
nor  Messenger  nor  Bashaw,  nor  any  other  imported 
horse  from  which  we  trace  our  trotting-action,  ever 
had.  Their  colts  were  of  all  sizes  and  colors  and  tem- 
peraments and  structural  formation.  One  would  be 
coarse-limbed,  big-headed,  and  rat-tailed,  like  Abdallah ; 
another  would  have  the  countenance  of  a  Barb,  and 
limbs  like  an  Arab's.  They  were  all  royal ;  but  none 
were  kingly.  Not  one  builded  a  throne  and  founded  a 
nation  whose  population  were  abundant,  and  all  his  chil- 
dren. But  Justin  Morgan  did  this  thing.  He  stands 
the  progenitor  of  a  mighty  race,  spread  over  all  the  land 
from  Maine  to  California  ;  and,  wherever  you  find  a  Mor- 
gan horse,  —  whether  in  city  or  country.  East  or  West, 
North  or  South,  —  you  know  that  he  is  a  Morgan  horse. 
One  glance  is  enough:  color,  shape,  style,  limbs,  feet, 
head,  all  suggest  the  little  horse  from  which  he  lineally 
descended,  —  Justin   Morgan.     Men    say    he    had    no 


294  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

^' blood."  Out  upon  the  assertion!  His  blood  must 
have  been  of  the  purest,  or  it  never  could  have  ruled  in 
mastery  over  all  other  bloods,  as  it  did,  and  still  con- 
tinues to  do. 

Ask  Mr.  Wallace,  one  of  the  most  honest  and  pains- 
taking students  of  the  horse  any  nation  has  ever  been 
honored  with,  —  ask  him  what  is  the  superlative  test  of 
blood ;  and  he  will  tell  you,  the  power  to  marh  descend- 
ants with  its  own  characteristics.  This  is  the  crucial 
test,  beside  which  mere  verbal  pedigrees  are  simply  bits 
of  paper.  Apply  this  test  to  Justin  Morgan  (there  are 
many  horses  who  walk  with  plumed  heads  to-day  that 
cannot  stand  this  test),  and  see  how  royally  he  bears  it ! 
Stand  him  in  the  full  blaze  of  such  a  scrutiny,  and  ob- 
serve that  the  fervor  which  withers  other  garlands  only 
causes  his  wreath  to  take  a  greener  hue.  How  other 
bloods  bowed  in  submission  to  his !  Crossed  with  twenty 
families,  he  dominated  over  them  all.  No  matter  what 
the  dam  might  be,  the  colt  was  sure  to  look  like  the 
sire.  There  were  the  same  feet  and  legs,  and  depth  of 
chest,  and  haunches  swollen  with  muscles,  the  same 
proud  curve  to  the  neck,  prominent  eye,  quick  ear,  full 
front,  and  muzzle  lean  as  a  sweated  racer's.  Men  say  he 
had  no  pedigree.  He  had.  His  pedigree  was  written 
in  the  form  and  spirit  of  his  children.  It  was  verified 
beyond  the  verification  of  written  affidavits.  Not  that 
these  were  lacking.  No  candid  and  intelligent  student 
of  the  question  can  have  the  shadow  of  a  doubt  that  his 
sire  was  Beautiful   Bay,   or  that  his   dam  was   of  the 


MORGAN  horse:    HIS   RELATION  TO   BREEDING.        295 

Wildair  breed.  But,  for  one,"  I  care  nothing  for  this 
verbal  pedigree  in  the  case  of  Justin  Morgan  :  it  is  a 
waste  of  words  to  discuss  it.  The  proofs  of  his  pedigree 
were  not  hack  of  him,  but  in  him ;  and  they  were  read 
in  living  characters  in  his  three  great  sons,  —  Sherman, 
Woodbury,  and  Bulrush, —  and  in  all  the  successive  gen^ 
crations  of  his  descendants,  even  down  to  the  present 
time.  What  names  adorn  the  scroll  of  his  fame !  — 
Black  Hawk,  Gifford,  Ethan  Allen,  Morrill,  Taggart's 
Abdallah,  Gen.  Knox,  Fearnaught,  Lambert:  these  are 
enough,  if  there  were  no  more,  to  make  his  name 
immortal.  The  sire  of  such  sons  cannot  be  denied  his 
rank  and  place  amid  the  great  stock-horses  of  the 
world.  The  ignorance  of  some,  and  the  malice  of 
others,  cannot  belittle  his  greatness.  This  stands 
secure,  not  only  above  the  peril,  but  even  above  the 
reach,  of  attack. 

It  is  of  a  family  of  horses  with  such  an  ancestor,  and 
sharing  his  characteristics,  that  I  now  write,  not  in 
way  of  eulogy,  but  rather  of  suggestion  to  breeders. 
I  claim  for  the  Morgan  horse  a  few  things  which 
make  him  the  most  desirable  horse  on  which  to  base 
experiments  in  crossing  that  any  man  ever  had.  The 
first  of  these  peculiarities  is  this,  —  the  power  of  trans- 
mitting his  excellences  to  his  offspring. 

This  power  makes  the  horse  that  has  it  absolutely 
invaluable  for  breeding-purposes,  because  it  takes 
uncertainty  from  the  process.  Give  the  breeder  a 
horse  that  marks  his   get  in  form,  color,  and  tempera- 


296  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

ment  like  himself,  and  he  knows  beforehand  what  he  is 
to  have :  anxiety  is  dismissed.  He  knows  how  the  colt 
will  look  before  he  is  foaled.  This  is  the  first,  and  per- 
haps the  most  characteristic,  peculiarity  of  the  Morgan 
horses.  Other  things  being  equal,  no  stallion  is  so  good 
for  stock-purposes  as  one  strongly  infused  with  Morgan 
blood ;  and  the  reason  is  simply  because  the  Morgan 
blood  is  a  strong,  masterful  blood,  yielding  to  none, 
but  conquering  all,  and  transmitting  itself  to  those 
born  of  it. 

The  second  excellence  for  which  the  Morgan  horse  is 
noted  is  beauty. 

Twenty  years  ago,  speed  was  every  thing.  If  a  horse 
could  go^  that  was  enough.  We  have  lived  beyond  that 
period.  Beauty  is  demanded  now  in  the  markets,  and 
paid  for  handsomely  ;  and  the  questions  with  every 
breeder,  therefore,  necessarily  are,  "  What  is  the  cross 
by  which  I  can  add  beauty  to  speed?  Where  can 
I  get  the  fine,  rich  coat,  the  spirited  face,  the  quick 
ear,  the  arched  tail,  the  small  black  hoofs,  the  flat, 
wiry  legs,  that  shall  cause  men  to  contend  for  the  pos- 
session of  my  colts  ?  "  That  is  what  Mr.  Taggart,  Col. 
Eussell,  Mr.  Dorsey,  Mr.  Nevins,  and  Col.  Sprague, 
wished  to  know ;  and  that  is  why  they  all  went  to 
the  Morgan  family  for  stallions  to  head  their  respective 
stables.  I  ask  any  man  to  select  in  all  the  country  six 
other  stallions  of  such  striking  beauty  as  Taggart's 
Abdallah,  Fearnaught,  Young  Fearnaught,  Ethan  Allen, 
Rolla  Gold  Dust,  and  Lambert,  —  all  direct  descend- 


MORGAN   HORSE:    HIS  RELATION   TO  BREEDING.        297 

ants  from  Justin  Morgan,  and  strongly  marked  with 
the  Morgan  characteristics.  For  beauty,  give  me,  in 
breeding,  a  Morgan  horse  for  a  sire,  and  a  well-bred 
mare  for  a  dam.  With  such  a  cross  I  know  what  I 
shall  get,  so  far  as  beauty  goes,  at  any  rate ;  and  beauty 
is  growing  to  be  worth  more  and  more  in  greenbacks 
every  year. 

The   third   characteristic  excellence  of  the   Morgan 
horses  is  their  docility, 

"  You  can  teach  a  Morgan  colt  any  thing"  is  a  prov- 
erb among  the  people;  and  the  proverbs  of  a  people 
always  blossom  out  of  facts.  And  it  is  a  fact,  that  the 
Morgans  are  all  teachable.  They  are  quick  to  catch 
your  meaning :  and,  once  taught,  they  are  always  taught ; 
for  they  never  forget  any  thing  once  learned.  Their 
memory  is  like  a  dog's,  —  faultless.  They  are  amiable 
as  a  race,  and  of  very  affectionate  dispositions.  They 
love  to  be  petted  and  caressed.  They  will  do  as 
much  for  a  word  as  for  a  blow.  They  are  never  tricky. 
That  they  are  high-strung  and  frisky,  we  admit ;  but 
their  playfulness  is  always  good-natured,  never  vicious. 
Even  in  their  wildest  antics  they  are  never  destruc- 
tive, but  are  careful,  and  yield  readily  to  rebuke.  If 
speedy,  they  can  be  trained  without  difficulty,  if  you 
will  let  the  whip  alone ;  and  will  do  all  that  in  them  lies 
at  the  word  of  the  driver.  The  Morgan  horse  is  beauti- 
ful ;  he  is  also  docile  ;  and  these  characteristics  he  trans- 
mits^ —  three  steps,  at  least,  that  lead  to  the  equine 
throne. 


298  THE   PERFECT   HOESE. 

The  fourth  characteristic  peculiar  to  the  Morgan 
horse  is  endurance. 

A  hardier  race  of  horses  was  never  bred.  In  power 
to  do  hard  work,  and  /ceej:?  on  doing  it^  month  in  and 
month  out,  the  Morgans  stand  at  the  head  of  the 
column.  In  lung-power  they  were  simply  perfect ; 
in  feet  and  limbs,  faultless ;  in  muscular  formation, 
marvellous ;  and  in  connection  with  this  was  a  nervous 
or  vital  force  that  seemed  to  be  equal  to  qyqtj  effort, 
and  appalled  at  no  emergency.  Years  did  not  appear 
to  lessen  their  power,  or  dampen  their  ardor.  At 
twenty  they  were  as  young  as  members  of  other 
families  are  at  ten ;  and  at  thirty  their  eyes  had  not 
lost  their  fire,  or  their  action  its  boldness.  Now,  this 
iron-like  quality  is  what  breeders  must  j)^^t  into  their 
colts.  We  can  get  speed  easily  enough ;  but  we  must 
have  speed,  and  the  power  to  keep  it  up  mile  after  mile, 
and  hour  after  hour.  Endurance  is  what  we  must  have 
in  our  horses ;  and  this  is  precisely  what  the  Morgan 
blood  gives.  It  is  pre-eminently  the  heirloom  of  the 
family,  and  is  handed  down  from  sire  to  son  in  undi- 
minished integrity. 

The  last  characteristic  of  the  Morgan  family  that  I 
shall  mention  is  speed. 

It  is  said  by  some  that  the  Morgan  family  had  no 
speed.  If  this  were  true,  still  there  would  be  such 
great  excellences  of  form,  temperament,  color,  and 
style,  that  it  would  remain  a  most  valuable  family  with 
which  to  cross  in  breeding.     But  it  is  not  true ;  for  the 


MORGAN   HOKSE:    HIS  RELATION  TO  BREEDING.        290 

fact  is,  all  things  being  candidly  considered,  I  believe 
every  one  will  admit  that  they  have  produced  more 
trotters  than  any  other  family  in  the  world.     I  ask  the 
reader  to  bear  in  mind,  that  in  Justin    Morgan's  day, 
and  also  during  the  lifetime  of  his  immediate  descend- 
ants, trotting,  as  we  understand  it,  was  not  in  vogue. 
The  State  of  Vermont  is,  moreover,  ill  adapted,  in  its 
topography    and   the   industries   of  its   inhabitants,   to 
develop  fast  trotting-horses.     The  roads  are  hilly,  and, 
up  to  a  very  recent  period,  the  tracks  few.     Lumbering, 
and  clearing  up  farm-lands  and  staging,  in  a  mountain- 
ous country,  are   not  just  the  work  one   would  select 
to   develop    trotters.     How  much,   think  you,    do   the 
Ilambletonian  and  Clay  families  owe  to  training  ?     All 
that  money  and  skill  could  do  for  them  has  been  done. 
Every  colt  with  any  promise,  sired  by  Hysdyk's  horse, 
has  been  cultured  and .  developed  to  the  limit   of  the 
possible.      But   the.  Morgan   horses  have   never   been 
petted.     They  were  not  thus  favored.     Circumstances 
were  all  against  the'  family ;  and  no  careful  student  will 
forget  this  fact  when  studying  the  question.     Neverthe- 
less, in  spite  of  neglect  and  adverse  circumstances,  the 
Morgan  horse  need  ask  no  odds  of  any.     To  his  beauty, 
docility,  endurance,  his  friends  can  add  the  word  speedy 
and  bide,  with  cheerfulness,  investigation  and  compari- 
son.    The  farther  I  push  my  inquiries  in  this  direction, 
the  more  am  I  astonished  at  the  evidence.     The  num- 
ber of  fast  horses  lineally  descended  in  the  male  line 
from  Justin  Morgan  surprise  me.     I  submit  the  follow- 
ing list  in  proof:  — 


300 


THE  PERFECT  HORSE. 


Ethan  Allen  trotted  a  mile  in 

Lady  Sutton 

Beppo 

Pizarro 

Blue  Morgan 

Black  Ealph 

Know-Nothing 

Chicago  Jack 

Belle  of  Saratoga  " 

Warwick  " 

Grit 

Capt.  Lightfoot    " 

Draco  " 

Fannie  Allen        " 

Fannie  Jenks  trotted  ten  miles 

"  "  "       a  hundred  miles 

Gilbreth  Knox  trotted  a  mile  in 
Hotspur  "  " 

Joe  Hooper,  jun.,   "  " 

Lady  Eoss  " 

Locust  " 

Mountain  Maid      " 
Nonesuch  " 

Eolla  Gold  Dust     « 
Susie  " 

Spartan  " 

Uncle  Abe  "  " 

Washington  Irving  trotted  a  mile  in 
Billy  Ban 
Carroll 
Draco  Prince 
Fearnaught 
Fannie  Lee 
Gray  Mack 


2.15 
2.33 
2.31J 
2.35 
2.33i 
2.31 
2.27i 
2.27i 
2.291 
2.29i 
2.29 
2.28 
2.27i 
2.251 
29.59 
h.  24.30 
2.261 
2.231 
2.281 
2.291 
2.241 
2.291 
2.251 
2.21 
2.26J 
2.28 
2.27 
2.30 
2.231 
2.30 
2.24 
2.23J 
2.28 
2.251 


MORGAN   HORSE:     HIS  RELATION  TO   BREEDING.        301 


Gray  Jack  trotted  a  mile  in 

2.281 

Honest  Allen           "         " 

2.29 

Lady  Sherman         "         " 

2.29 

Lancet                       "         " 

2.25 

Mac                           "         " 

2.25 

Pocahontas               "         " 

2.261 

Panic                         "         « 

2.25 

Eoyal  John               "         " 

2.26J 

Strideaway               "         " 

2.281 

Tennessee                 "         " 

2.27 

Young  Morrill          "         " 

2.36 

Gen.  Lyon                 "         " 

2.36 

Defiance                    "         " 

2.35 

Camors                      "         " 

2.26 

Commee                    ''         " 

2.271 

Parkis'Abdallah       "         " 

2.271 

Young  Fearnaught  '^         " 

Ned  Wallace  (a  four-year  old),  trotted  a  mile  in  2.33 

Allen  Prince 

i( 

ii 

"    2.261 

Here,  then,  are  forty-nine  lineal  descendants  of  the 
old  Justin  Morgan,  that  have  trotted  as  follows  :  — 

Two  a  mile  in      .         .         ,         .         .         .  2.36 

Porty-nine  better  than         ....  2.36 

Porty  better  than 2.30 

And  fourteen  better  than     ....  2.26 

It  is  possible,  that,  here  and  there  in  the  list,  a  slight 
error  may  be  found ;  but  I  believe  the  record  to  be 
entirely  trustworthy  and  reliable. 

Now,  I  wish,  in  all  candor,  to  inquire  if  the  record 
is  not  a  good  one.  What  other  horse  has  New  Eng- 
land ever  had  with  such  a  list  of  descendants?     Where 


802  THE  PERFECT   HOESE. 

is  the  "  Bush  Messenger "  family  to  which  New  Eng- 
land is  so  much  "  indebted "  ?  Will  some  one  please 
mention  the  "  Hambletonian  "  trotters?  If  I  write  ear- 
nestly and  strongly,  I  do  it,  be  it  remembered,  in 
defence  of  a  family  of  horses  suffering  from  a  most 
unjust  impeachment,  and  in  vindication  of  a  great 
truth,  that  it  is  for  the  interest  of  every  New-England 
breeder  to  know;  viz.,  that  the  family  of  horses  ivhich 
has  been  distinguished  %,  and  embodied^  the  four  great 
essentials  of  the  ])erfect  horse^  —  beauty^  docility^  endur- 
ance^ and  speedy  —  is  the  Morgan. 

If  any  one  should  say,  "Why!  Fearnaught  is  not  a 
Morgan,"  I  respond,  "  He  is  just  as  much  a  Morgan  as 
Dexter  is  a  Hambletonian,  or  George  M.  Patchen,  jun., 
is  a  Clay  horse ; "  that  is,  he  runs  straight  back  in  the 
male  line  to  Justin  Morgan. 

I  do  not  think  that  many  people  realize  how  much 
we  are  actually  indebted  to  this  family  of  horses  for  our 
trotting-stock.  Many  men  who  own  valuable  stock- 
horses  in  New  England,  lineally  descended  from  old 
Justin  Morgan,  seem  unaware  of  the  fact.  Indeed,  I 
have  sometimes  thought  that  I  detected,  on  the  part  of 
some,  a  desire  to  conceal  the  very  connection  and  rela- 
tionship from  which,  beyond  doubt,  their  horses  derived 
the  larger  part  of  their  excellence.  Some  foolish 
writer  has  asserted  that  certain  descendants  of  this 
horse  were  not  potentially  affected  by  their  relationship 
with  him ;  indeed,  were  not  Morgan  horses  at  all. 
The  method  by  which  he  proves  this,  as  a  specimen 


MORGAN  HORSE:    HIS  RELATION  TO  BREEDING.        303 

of  ingenuity  in  silliness,  cannot  be  beaten.  His  reason- 
ing runs  thus:  Sherman  Morgan  drew  one-half  of  his 
blood  from  Justin  Morgan,  his  sire ;  his  son  Black 
Hawk,  one-eighth ;  his  son  Ethan  Allen,  one-sixteenth ; 
his  son  Daniel  Lambert,  one-thirty-second ;  his  sons, 
one-sixty-fourth :  therefore,  as  a  son  of  Daniel  Lambert 
has  only  one-sixty-fourth  of  old  Justin  Morgan's  blood 
in  his  veins,  he  is  no  descendant  of  his;  indeed,  no 
Morgan  horse  at  all.  This  is,  indeed,  brilliant  reason- 
ing !  Suppose  we  illustrate  it  with  a  sample  of  the 
human  family.  The  first  Murray  —  that  is,  the  head  of 
my  family  —  that  came  to  America  was  named  John 
Murray.  His  son  Jonathan  drew  only  one-half  of  his 
blood  from  his  father;  his  son  John,  one-eighth;  his  son 
Calvin,  one-sixteenth ;  his  son  Dickinson,  one-thirty- 
second  ;  his  son  William,  one-sixty-fourth :  therefore  I, 
because  I  do  not  have  but  one-sixty-fourth  of  the 
original  John  Murray's  blood  in  my  veins,  am  no  Mur- 
ray at  all.  That  is  going  back  on  one's  relations  with  a 
vengeance !  The  fact  is,  —  and  all  attempts  to  elude 
and  evade  it  are  silly  at  the  start,  and,  if  repeated,  de- 
testable, —  the  fact  is,  the  male  side  of  the  family  gives 
the  name  to  the  family,  with  horses  as  with  men.  As  a 
matter  of  justice,  I  might  as  consistently  call  myself 
Munger,  because  my  mother's  name  was  that,  as  that 
Mr.  Taggart's  famous  horse  should  be  called  Abdallah, 
ignoring  the  fact,  that,  in  the  male  line,  he  runs  straight 
back  through  Farmer's  Beauty,  GifFord,  Woodbury,  to 
old  Justin  Morgan.    I  call  him  a  full  Morgan  horse.     So 


304  THE  PERFECT  HORSE. 

I  do  Fearnaught,  who  likewise  runs  straight  as  a  string 
through  Young  Morrill,  Old  Morrill,  Bulrush  Morgan, 
to  old  Justin  Morgan  himself.  Likewise  Gen.  Knox,  one 
of  the  most  justly  celebrated  stock-horses  Maine,  New 
England,  or  the  country,  ever  had,  —  the  sire  of  Gil- 
breth  Knox  (record  2.26),  Camors  (record  2.21f),  Lady 
Maud  (record  2.22i),  and  Plato  (record  2.27^),  — is  a 
true  Morgan  :  for  his  sire  was  Sherman  Black  Hawk  ; 
grandsire.  Black  Hawk ;  great-grandsire,  Sherman ;  great- 
great-grandsire,  Justin  Morgan.  What  right  have  men 
to  rob  a  horse  of  his  laurels,  or  deny  him  that  fame, 
which,  by  the  character  of  his  get,  he  can  justly  claim  ? 
Who  would  treat  Old  Messenger  or  Diomed  or  Bashaw 
in  this  manner?  Especially,  how  can  we  deny  the  Mor- 
gan relationship,  when  the  horse  in  question  not  only  is 
a  lineal  descendant  of  Justin  Morgan,  but  even  bears 
the  mai'ks  and  characteristics  of  the  family  most  unmis- 
takably ?  Who  can  look  at  Taggart's  Abdallah,  or 
Ethan  Allen,  or  Rolla  Gold  Dust,  and  not  feel  that  the 
Morgan  blood  has  proved  the  dominant  blood  in  their 
case,  and  marked  them  with  an  unmistakable  impress  ? 
And  I  ask  certain  of  my  readers  to  observe  that  this 
Morgan  connection  never  gives  heavy  jowls,  and  large 
ears,  and  big  legs,  and  long  backs,  to  a  horse,  —  as  con- 
nection with  certain  families  I  might  mention  is  pretty 
apt  to  do,  —  but  puts  just  what  you  wish  into  a  horse, 
and  no  more. 

It  is  said  that  Justin  Morgan  was  a  low-bred  horse. 
But  such  a  statement  is  a  gross  slander.     There  can  be 


MORGAN   HORSE:    HIS   RELATION   TO   BREEDING.        305 

no  doubt,  in  any  candid  man's  mind  who  investigates  the 
matter,  that  Justin  Morgan  was  sired  by  True  Briton  or 
Beautiful  Bay,  owned  by  Sealy  Norton  of  East  Hart- 
ford, Conn.,  and  then  kept  by  John  Morgan  at  West 
Springfield,  Mass.,  where  he  then  lived.  That  his  dam 
was  a  mare  of  good  breeding  is  also  beyond  question. 
Whether  the  sire  of  Beautiful  Bay  was  the  imported 
horse  Traveller  or  not,  —  and  this  point  I  do  not 
attempt  to  decide,  —  it  cannot  be  denied  that  Beautiful 
Bay  was  a  horse  noted  for  his  fine-blooded  qualities. 

But,  outside  of  and  above  all  considerations  of  ap- 
proved pedigree,  the  horse,  as  I  have  said,  demonstrated 
his  fine  breeding  in  his  get.  All  authorities  agree  that 
none  but  high-bred  horses  can  mark  their  colts.  The 
power  to  transmit  his  own  likeness  to  his  descendants  is 
peculiarly  the  characteristic  of  the  thorough-bred  horse : 
and  none  can  deny  that  Justin  Morgan  had  this  power 
in  a  marvellous  degree  ;  and,  higher  proof  yet,  he  gave 
this  poiver  to  Ms  sons.  This,  to  my  mind,  constitutes  a 
demonstration,  and  makes  written  pedigree  of  little 
account.  Fortunately,  also,  we  know  what  manner  of 
horse  he  was ;  and,  as  a  matter  of  interest  to  the  general 
reader,  I  will  insert  at  this  place  the  following  very 
accurate  description  and  history  of  the  Justin  Morgan, 
as  found  in  Mr.  Linsley's  work  on  "  The  Morgan 
Horse : "  — 

"  The  original,  or  Justin  Morgan,  was  about  four- 
teen hands  high,  and  weighed  about  nine  hundred  and 
fifty  pounds.     His  color  was  dark  bay,  w^ith  black  legs, 


20 


306  THE  PERFECT   HOKSE. 

mane,  and  tail.  He  had  no  white  hairs  on  him.  His 
mane  and  tail  were  coarse  and  heavy,  but  not  so  mas- 
sive as  has  been  sometimes  described.  The  hair  of  both 
was  straight,  and  not  inclined  to  curl.  His  head  was 
good,  not  extremely  small,  but  lean  and  bony  ;  the  face 
straight ;  forehead  broad ;  ears  small  and  very  fine,  but 
set  rather  wide  apart.  His  eyes  were  medium  size, 
very  dark  and  prominent,  with  a  spirited  but  pleasant 
expression,  and  showed  no  white  round  the  edge  of 
the  lid.  His  nostrils  were  very  large,  the  muzzle  small, 
and  the  lips  close  and  firm.  His  back  and  legs  were, 
perhaps,  his  most  noticeable  points.  The  former  was 
very  short;  the  shoulder-.blades  and  hip-bones  being 
very  long  and  oblique,  and  the  loins  exceedingly 
broad  and  muscular.  His  body  was  rather  long, 
round,  and  deep,  close  ribbed  up  ;  chest  deep  and  wide, 
with  the  breast-bone  projecting  a  good  deal  in  front. 
His  legs  were  short,  close-jointed,  thin,  but  very  wide, 
hard,  and  free  from  meat,  with  muscles  that  were 
remarkably  large  for  a  horse  of  his  size ;  and  this  super- 
abundance of  muscle  exhibited  itself  at  every  step. 
Plis  hair  was  short,  and,  at  almost  all  seasons,  soft  and 
glossy.  He  had  a  little  long  hair  about  the  fetlocks, 
and  for  two  or  three  inches  above  the  fetlock,  on  the 
back-side  of  the  legs:  the  rest  of  the  limbs  were 
entirely  free  from  it.  His  feet  were  small,  but  well 
shaped  ;  and  he  was  in  every  respect  perfectly  sound, 
and  free  from  any  sort  of  blemish.  He  was  a  very  fast 
walker.     In  trotting,  his  gait  was  low  and  smooth,  and 


MORGAN   HOUSE  :     HIS   RELATION   TO   BREEDING.        807 

his  step  short  and  nervous.  He  was  not  what  in  these 
days  would  be  called  fast :  and  we  think  it  doubtful 
whether  he  could  trot  a  mile,  much,  if  any,  within  four 
minutes ;  though  it  is  claimed  by  many  that  he  could 
trot  it  in  three. 

^'Although  he  raised  his  feet  but  little,  he  never 
stumbled.  His  proud,  bold,  and  fearless  style  of  move- 
ment, and  his  vigorous,  untiring  action,  have,  perhaps, 
never  been  surpassed.  When  a  rider  was  on  him,  he 
was  obedient  to  the  slightest  motion  of  the  rein ;  would 
walk  backwards  rapidly  under  a  gentle  pressure  of  the 
bit;  and  moved  sideways  almost  as  willingly  as  he 
moved  forward ;  in  short,  was  perfectly  trained  to  all 
the  paces  and  evolutions  of  a  parade-horse.  When 
ridden  at  military  reviews  (as  was  frequently  the  case), 
his  bold,  imposing  style,  and  spirited,  nervous  action, 
attracted  universal  attention  and  admiration.  He  was 
perfectly  gentle  and  kind  to  handle,  and  loved  to  be 
groomed  and  caressed :  but  he  disliked  to  have  children 
about  him ;  and  had  an  inveterate  hatred  for  dogs,  —  if 
loose,  always  chasing  them  out  of  sight  the  instant  he 
saw  them.  When  taken  out  with  halter  or  bridle,  he 
was  in  constant  motion,  and  very  playful. 

*'  He  was  a  fleet  runner  at  short  distances.  Running 
horses  short  distances  for  small  stakes  was  very  com- 
mon in  Vermont  fifty  years  ago.  Eighty  rods  was 
very  generally  the  length  of  the  course,  which  usually 
commenced  at  a  tavern  or  grocery,  and  extended  the 
distance  agreed  upon,  up  or  down  the  public  road.     lu 


308  THE   PERFECT   HORSE. 

these  races  the  horses  were  started  from  a  '  scratch,' — - 
that  is,  a  mark  was  drawn  across  the  road  in  the  dirt ; 
and  the  horses,  ranged  in  a  row  upon  it,  went  oif  at 
'  the  drop  of  a  hat '  or  some  other  signal.  It  will  be 
observed  that  the  form  of  the  Justin  Morgan  was  not 
such  as  in  our  days  is  thought  best  calculated  to 
give  the  greatest  speed  for  a  short  distance.  Those 
who  believe  in  long-legged  racers  will  think  his  legs, 
body,  and  stride  were  all  too  short ;  and  to  them  it  may, 
perhaps,  seem  surprising  that  he  should  be  successful, 
as  he  invariably  was,  in  such  contests.  But  we  think 
his  great  muscular  development  and  nervous  energy, 
combined  with  his  small  size,  gave  him  a  decided 
advantage  in  the  first  start  over  taller  and  heavier 
horses;  just  as  any  ordinary  horse  can  distance  the 
finest  locomotive  in  a  ten-rod  race.  At  all  events,  the 
history  of  racing  in  this  country  and  in  England  proves 
conclusively  that  small  horses  may  have  great  speed. 
In  such  a  race,  a  horse  of  great  spirit  and  nervous 
energy  derives  a  decided  advantage  from  these  quali- 
ties, especially  after  being  a  little  accustomed  to  such 
struggles.  When  brought  up  to  the  line,  his  eyes 
flash,  and  liis  ears  quiver  with  intense  excitement ;  he 
grinds  his  bit  with  his  teeth  ;  his  hind-legs  are  drawn 
under  him;  every  muscle  of  his  frame  trembles,  and 
swells  almost  to  bursting  ;  and,  at  the  given  signal,  he 
goes  off  like  the  springing  of  a  steel  trap.  His  unvary- 
ing success  in  these  short  races  may  perhaps  be  partly 
accounted  for  in  this  way ;   though  he  was  undoubtedly 


MORGAN   horse:    HIS  RELATION  TO  BREEDING.        309 

possessed  of  more  than  ordinary  speed,  and  was  a 
sharp  runner. 

"  Among  the  many  races  of  this  description  that  he 
ran  were  two  in  179G,  at  Brookiield,  Yt.,  — one  with  a 
horse  called  Sweepstakes  from  Long  Island  ;  and  the 
other  with  a  horse  called  Silver  Tail  from  St.  Lawrence 
County,  N.Y.  :  both  of  these  he  beat  with  ease.  Mr. 
Morgan  (who  then  owned  him)  offered  to  give  the 
owner  of  Silver  Tail  two  more  chances  to  win  the 
stake,  which  was  fifty  dollars,  by  walking  or  trotting 
the  horses  for  it ;  which  was  declined.  There  are  many 
accounts  of  other  races  which  he  ran  and  won  ;  but, 
these  accounts  not  fully  agreeing  as  to  the  details,  we 
have  not  mentioned  them. 

"  In  harness  the  Justin  Morgan  was  quiet,  but  full  of 
spirit ;  an  eager  and  nimble  traveller,  but  patient  in  bad 
spots ;  and,  although  for  a  long  time  steadily  engaged 
in  the  heavy  work  of  a  new  farm,  his  owner  at  that 
time  informs  us  that  he  never  knew  him  refuse  to  draw 
as  often  as  he  was  required  to :  but  he  pithily  adds,  '  I 
didn't  very  often  have  to  ask  him  but  once ;  for  what- 
ever he  was  hitched  to  generally  had  to  come  the  first 
time  trying.'  This  uniform  kindness  at  a  pull  was  one 
of  the  striking  characteristics  of  the  horse;  and  the 
same  trait  may  be  observed  in  the  greater  part  of  his 
descendants.  '  Pulling  matches  '  and  '  pulling  bees  ' 
were  as  common  in  those  days  as  short  races ;  and  the 
'  little  horse,'  as  he  was  often  called,  became  quite  cele- 
brated for  his  unvarying  willingness  to  do  his  best,  and 
for  his  great  power  at  what  is  called  a  '  dead  lift.' 


310  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

"The  following  letter  from  Solomon  Steele,  Esq.,  of 
Derbj,  Vt.,  —  a  gentleman  who  has  devoted  a  great  deal 
of  time  and  money  to  the  improvement  of  horses  in  his 
vicinity,  and  who,  notwithstanding  the  apathy  of  some 
and  the  opposition  of  others,  now  enjoys  the  pleasure 
of  seeing  his  precepts  adopted  and  his  example  fol- 
lowed by  his  neighbors,  to  their  great  advantage,  and 
the  equal  improvement  of  their  stock,  —  will  be  read 
with  interest :  — 

"Derby  Line,  Vt.,  March  12,  1856. 
"D.  C.  LixsLEY,  Esq. 

"  Dear  Sv%  — I  am  in  receipt  of  yours  of  the  1st  inst., 
renewing  your  request  that  I  should  favor  you  with  such 
information  as  I  may  possess  in  relation  to  the  early  his- 
tory of  the  founder  of  that  breed  of  horses  which  have 
at  length  become  so  distinguished  as  to  be  called  the 
'best  in  the  world,'  and  known  as  Morgans.  I  have 
not  the  vanity  to  presume  that  I  can  disclose  any  mate- 
rial facts  relative  to  this  subject ;  but,  at  your  request, 
I  will  mention  some  incidents  connected  with  the  early 
history  of  this  horse,  which,  if  not  of  great  importance, 
may  not  be  void  of  interest.  It  has  been  my  privilege, 
in  early  life,  to  often  see  the  original  Morgan  horse, 
called  by  this  name  from  the  fact  that  Justin  Morgan 
brought  him  to  Randolph,  Yt,  from  Massachusetts,  in 
the  autumn  of  1705.  Mr.  ]\Iorgan  intended  to  apply 
him  to  the  payment  of  a  note  held  against  him ;  but  not 
being  able  to  obtain  what  ho  considered  a  reasonable 
price  fur  him,  and  having  no  keeping  for  him,  he  let 


MORGAN   HORSE:    HIS   RELATION  TO   BREEDING.        311 

him  to  a  man  by  the  name  of  Robert  Evans,  for  one 
year,  for  the  sum  of  fifteen  dollars.  Immediately  after 
this,  Evans  undertook  the  job  of  clearing  fifteen  acres 
of  heavy  timbered  land  for  a  Mr.  Fisk ;  and,  before  the 
1st  of  June  following,  had  completed  the  job,  with  no 
other  team  but  this  colt,  though  not  regarded  as  a 
^salable  horse.' 

"  While  Evans  was  engaged  in  piling  this  timber,  the 
remarkable  powers  of  this  horse,  it  would  seem,  were 
in  a  measure  developed,  as  he  was  then  found  able  to 
.out-draw,  out- walk,  out-trot,  or  out-run,  every  horse  that 
was  matched  against  him.  An  instance  was  related  to 
me  by  Mr.  Nathan  Nye,  who  was  an  eye-witness,  and 
whose  testimony  was  never  questioned.  I  noted  it  at 
the  time,  and  will  relate  it  in  his  own  words :  — 

''  '  At  the  time  Evans  had  this  horse,  a  small  tavern,  a 
grist-mill  and  saw-mill,  were  in  operation  on  the  branch 
of  White  River,  in  Randolph ;  and  at  this  place  the 
strength  of  men  and  horses  in  that  settlement  was 
generally  tested.  On  one  occasion  I  went  to  these 
mills,  where  I  spent  most  of  a  day;  and,  during  the 
time,  many  trials  were  had,  for  a  small  wager,  to  draw 
a  certain  pine-log,  which  lay  some  ten  rods  from  the 
saw-mill. 

"  '  Some  horses  were  hitched  to  it  that  would  weigh 
twelve  hundred  pounds;  but  not  one  of  them  could 
move  it  its  length.  About  dusk,  Evans  came  down 
from  his  logging-field,  which  was  near  by;  and  I  told 
iiim  the  particulars  of  the  drawing-match.     Evans  re- 


312  THE  PERFECT  HORSE. 

quested  me  to  show  him  the  log ;  which  I  did.  He  then 
ran  back  to  the  tavern,  and  challenged  the  company  to 
bet  a  gallon  of  rum  that  he  could  not  draw  the  log 
fairly  on  to  the  logway,  at  three  pulls,  with  his  colt. 
The  challenge  was  promptly  accepted;  and,  each  hav- 
ing "taken  a  glass,"  the  whole  company  went  down  to 
the  spot. 

'"Arrived  on  the  ground,  Evans  says,  "I  am  ashamed 
to  hitch  my  horse  to  a  little  log  like  that ;  but,  if  three 
of  you  will  get  on  and  ride,  if  I  don't  draw  it  I  will 
forfeit  the  rum."  Acco^ingly,  three  of  those  least  able 
to  stand  were  placed  upon  the  log.  I  was  present  with 
a  lantern,  and  cautioned  those  on  the  log  to  look  out 
for  their  legs,  as  I  had  seen  the  horse  draw  before,  and 
knew  something  had  got  to  come.  At  the  word  of 
command  the  horse  started  log  and  men,  and  went 
more  than  half  of  the  distance  before  stopping.  At  the 
next  pull  he  landed  his  load  at  the  spot  agreed  upon, 
to  the  astonishment  of  all  present. 

"  'Not  many  days  after  this,  the  beaten  party  proposed 
to  Evans  to  run  a  certain  horse  against  his,  eighty  rods, 
for  another  gallon.  Evans  accepted;  went  from  his 
work,  and  matched  his  horse  against  four  different 
horses  the  same  evening,  and  beat  them  all  with  ease.' 

"  Thus,  early  in  the  history  of  the  Morgan  horse,  it 
was  an  admitted  fact,  that,  however  small,  he  could  not 
be  beaten  where  strength,  speed,  and  endurance  were 
the  test.  When  we  see  this  same  animal  driven  in  har- 
ness,  or  ridden  by  the  aged  and  infirm  with  perfect 


MORGAN   HORSE:    HIS   RELATION  TO   BREEDING.        313 

safety  and  confidence,  and  next  see  him  at  a  military  re- 
view, mounted  by  the  commander-in-chief,  and  displaying 
all  the  fire  and  pride  imaginable,  and,  after  the  lapse  of 
nearly  fifty  years,  witnessing  the  same  remarkable  traits 
in  many  of  his  descendants,  we  are  constrained  to  admit 
that  blood  is,  indeed,  of  no  small  importance  in  the  busi- 
ness of  horse-breeding.  It  should  be  well  understood, 
that,  throughout  the  long  life  of  the  Justin  Morgan,  as 
well  as  that  of  his  immediate  offspring,  want  of  size 
was  the  universal  objection.  No  man  of  ordinary  judg- 
ment could  fail  to  discover  his  peculiar  points  of  excel- 
lence ;  his  oblique  shoulders,  high  crest,  fine  ear, 
prominent  and  sagacious  eye,  perfect  head,  large  and 
expanded  nostrils,  strong  loins,  long  hip,  deep  and 
well-spread  chest,  high  withers,  short  pasterns,  strong 
and  sinewy  limbs,  with  all  the  important  muscles,  far  sur- 
passing in  size  those  of  any  other  horse .  of  his  weight 
ever  seen  in  America.  The  fact  that  this  horse  has  con- 
tributed more  than  any  other  animal  ever  did  to  the 
wealth  of  the  United  States,  no  honest  man  will  deny ; 
but  strange  to  say,  in  the  face  of  all  this,  the  cry  is  still 
heard,  'Too  small,  too  small!''  This  reminds  us  of  the 
man  who  sold  his  hen  because  she  Avas  too  small  althouo-h 
she  daily  laid  eggs  of  gold.  We  rejoice,  however,  that 
we  live  in  a  day  when  intelligent  men  cannot  so  easily 
be  made  the  dupes  of  interested  parties.  The  farming 
community  are  thinking  and  acting  with  more  care  and 
attention  than  formerly.  They  are  disposed  to  profit  by 
past   experience.      They  are  more  close  observers  of 


314  THE  PERFECT   HOUSE. 

cause  and  effect ;  and  it  is  our  JSrm  conviction  that  the 
man  who  is  doing  most  to  foster  and  encourage  this 
principle  is  the  Avorld's  greatest  benefactor. 

"  Through  life  the  Justin  Morgan  was  steadily  em- 
ployed in  the  heavy  work  incident  to  the  cultivation  of 
a  new  and  mountainous  country,  and  was  often  engaged 
in  similar  matches  to  those  just  mentioned.  Even  at  the 
age  of  fifteen,  we  find  him  entered  at  a  drawing-match 
that  took  place  at  Gen.  Butler's  tavern  in  St.  Johnsbury. 
Some  of  his  opponents  are  described  by  persons  present 
as  large,  heavy  horses;  yet  they  were  all  beaten  by  the 
Justin.  We  mention  these  facts  to  show  the  great 
muscular  development  of  the  horse,  and  his  kind  and 
tractable  temper,  rather  than  as  an  evidence  of  his  value 
for  purposes  of  heavy  draught ;  for  although  the  power 
of  an  animal ,  in  starting  a  given  weight  depends  more 
upon  his  form  and  muscular  development  than  upon 
mere  size,  yet  size  is  indispensable  to  enable  a  horse  to 
move  off  easily  upon  the  road  with  a  heavy  load. 

"  The  quietness  and  exceedingly  pleasant  temper  of 
the  Justin  Morgan  is  strikingly  evidenced  by  the  fact 
that  he  was  often  ridden  and  driven  by  ladies.  A  lady 
of  St.  Johnsbury  once  told  us  she  remembered  his 
appearance  perfectly,  and  had  repeatedly  ridden  him, 
when  a  girl,  to  balls  and  other  parties;  and  spoke  with 
much  enthusiasm  of  his  noble  appearance,  his  high 
sjnrit,  and  perfect  docility. 

"  It  is  exceedingly  difficult  to  obtain  accurate  infor- 


MORGAN   HORSE:    HIS   RELATION  TO  BREEDING.        315 

mation  respecting  the  changes  in  owners  that  occurred 
to  the  horse   at  different   times.     To   account  for  this 
uncertainty,  we  must  consider  that  his  fame  has  been 
almost  entirely  posthumous;   that,  although  the   cham- 
pion  of  his   neighborhood,   he   was   little   valued,   on 
account  of  his  small  size ;   and  it  was  not  until  after  his 
death,  and  his  descendants  were  exhibiting  the  powers 
of  their  sire,  in  speed,  strength,  and  endurance,  in  al- 
most  every  village    of  Eastern  Vermont,    that   people 
began  to  realize  they  had  not  properly  appreciated  him. 
For  this  reason,  little  notice  was  taken,  at  that  time,  of 
any  change  of  owners :  and  many  persons  who  very  well 
recollect  the  horse,  recollect  nothing  of  these  changes ; 
and  those  who  claim  to  recollect  them  disagree  much  as 
to  the  dates  at  which  his  several  owners  purchased  him. 
"As  we  have  before  stated,  Mr.  Morgan  used  him 
almost  exclusively  as  a  riding-horse ;  though  he  broke 
him  to  harness,  and  occasionally  used  him  in  that  way. 
After  Mr.  Morgan's  death,  he  was  sold  by  the  estate  to 
William  Rice   of  Woodstock,  Yt.     Mr.  Rice  used  him 
in  the  ordinary  work  of  his  farm  for  about  two  years, 
or  until  1800  or  1801,  when  Robert  Evans  —  who  had 
been   constantly  on  the   watch  for  an  opportunity   to 
purchase  since  he  hired  him  of  Mr.  Morgan  —  bought 
him.     Mr.  Evans  was  a  poor  man  with  a  large  family, 
and  was  what  is  called  a  great  worker.     In  addition  to 
the  work  upon  his  own  place,  he  was  constantly  under- 
taking jobs  for  his  neighbors,  —  clearing  land,  hauling 
logs,  building  fence,  &c.      The  '  little  horse '  was  Mr. 


316  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

Evans's  only  team ;  and,  of  course,  his  labor  was  very 
severe.  Mr.  Evans  kept  him  three  or  four  years,  or 
until  1804,  when  he  was  sued  for  debt.  Col.  John  Goss 
became  his  bail,  took  the  horse  for  security,  and  finally 
paid  the  debt,  and  kept  him.  Mr.  John  Goss  was  not 
much  of  a  horseman,  and  therefore  took  the  horse  to 
his  brother,  David  Goss  of  St.  Johnsbury,  who  was 
quite  a  horseman,  and  made  arrangements  with  him  to 
keep  him  for  a  stock-horse.  After  David  had  kept  him 
a  year,  he  was  so  much  pleased  with  him,  that  he  ex- 
changed a  fine  mare  with  his  brother  for  him,  adding 
cash  or  other  property.  The  horse,  in  this  trade,  was 
valued  at  one  hundred  dollars.  Mr.  David  Goss  kept 
him  seven  years,  or  until  1811 ;  and  it  was  while  owned 
by  him  that  the  Hawkins,  Fenton,  and  Sherman  horses 
were  sired.  Mr.  Goss  kept  him  almost  constantly  at 
work  on  his  farm,  with  the  exception  of  about  two 
months  in  the  spring  of  each  year.  While  his  property, 
although  put  to  hard  work,  the  horse  was  not  over- 
worked or  abused,  but  was  properly  treated  and  cared 
for.  David  Goss  sold  him  to  his  son  Philip.  Some 
of  his  colts  about  Randolph  having  grown  up,  and 
proved  valuable,  there  was  some  inquiry  for  the  horse 
in  that  vicinity;  and  he  was  accordingly  taken  back  to 
that  town.     This  was  in  1811. 

''He  was  now  nineteen  years  old;  and  those  who  owned 
him  at  different  times  after  this  generally  seemed  eager 
to  get  rid  of  him,  for  fear  he  should  die  on  their  hands. 
Immediately  after  his  return  to  Randolph,  he  seems  to 


MORGAN   HORSE:    HIS  RELATION  TO   BREEDING.         817 

have  been  taken  care  of  by  Robert  Evans,  his  former 
owner;  for  it  was  during  this  year  that  Bulrush  was 
sired,  and  he  was  at  that  time  in  the  possession  of  Mr. 
Evans. 

''  Soon  after  this,  or  in  the  autumn  of  1811,  Philip 
Goss  sold  him  to  Jacob  Sanderson.  Sanderson  sold  him 
to  a  Mr.  Langmade,  who  used  the  old  horse  hard,  con- 
sidering his  age.  He  worked  him  some  time  in  a  six- 
horse  team,  hauling  freight  from  Windsor  to  Chelsea. 
Under  this  treatment  he  became  thin  and  poor,  and  was 
purchased  for  a  trifle  by  Mr.  Chelsea,  and  shortly  after 
sold  by  him  to  Joel  Goss  of  Claremont,  N.H.  Mr. 
Goss  kept  him  one  year,  and  sold  him  to  Mr.  Samuel 
Stone  of  Randolph.  Mr.  Stone  kept  him  two  or  three 
years,  or  until  1819,  when  he  sold  him;  and  he  soon 
after  became  the  property  of  Levi  Bean,  who  owned 
him  until  his  death,  which  happened  in  the  winter  of 
1821  at  the  farm  of  CHfford  Bean,  situated  about  three 
miles  south  of  the  village  of  Chelsea,  Yt. 

"At  twenty-nine  years  of  age,  no  cause  need  be 
assigned  for  his  death  but  the  ravages  of  time  and  the 
usual  infirmities  of  years.  But  old  age  was  not  the 
immediate  cause  of  his  death.  He  was  not  stabled,  but 
was  running  loose  in  an  open  yard  with  other  horses, 
and  received  a  kick  from  one  of  them  in  the  flank.  Ex- 
posed without  shelter  to  the  inclemency  of  a  Northern 
winter,  inflammation  set  in,  and  he  died.  Before 
receiving  the  hurt  which  caused  his  death,  he  was 
perfectly  sound,  and  entirely  free  from  any  description 


318  THE  PEKFECT   HOUSE. 

of  blemish.  His  limbs  were  perfectly  smooth,  clean, 
free  from  any  swelling,  and  perfectly  limber  and  supple. 

"Those  persons  who  saw  him  in  1819  and  1820 
describe  his  appearance  as  remarkably  fresh  and  youth- 
ful. Age  had  not  quenched  his  spirit,  nor  damped  the 
ardor  of  his  temper;  years  of  severest  labor  had  not 
sapped  his  vigor,  nor  broken  his  constitution ;  his  eye 
was  still  bright,  and  his  step  firm  and  elastic. 

"However  various  may  be  the  opinions  different  per- 
sons may  entertain  respecting  the  merits  of  the  Justin 
Morgan,  we  doubt  whether  any  horse  can  be  instanced, 
in  this  or  any  other  country,  that  has  so  strikingly 
impressed  upon  his  descendants,  to  the  fifth  and  sixth 
generations,  his  own  striking  and  valuable  character- 
istics. And  it  may  be  safely  asserted  that  the  stock  of 
no  horse  ever  bred  in  this  country  has  proved  so  gen- 
erally and  largely  profitable  to  the  breeders  of  it.  The 
raisinjx  of  it  has  made  the  fortunes  of  hundreds  of  indi- 
viduals,  and  added  hundreds  of  thousands,  if  not  millions, 
of  dollars  to  the  wealth  of  Vermont  and  New  Hamp- 
shire." 

I  feel,  also,  that  I  can  do  no  greater  service  to  the 
general  reader  than  to  insert  in  this  connection  the  fol- 
lowing history  and  description  of  the  three  sons  of  Jus- 
tin Morgan  from  which  the  Morgans  of  to-day  have  de- 
scended,—  viz.,  Sherman,  Woodbury,  and  Bulrush  ;  and 
I  do  it  the  more  readily,  because  Mr.  Linsley's  work, 
from  which  the  quotation  is  made,  is  out  of  print,  very 
rare,  and  cannot  be  obtained  :  — 


MORGAN  HORSE:    HIS  RELATION  TO  BREEDING.        319 

*'  Sherman  was  foaled  in  1808  or  1809,  the  property 
of  James  Sherman  of  Lyndon,  Yt.  It  has  been  said 
that  Sherman  was  foaled  in  1810  ;  and  it  has  also  been 
said  that  he  was  foaled  in  1811.  It  is  not  at  all  sur- 
prising that  his  age  should  be  understated  by  a  year  or 
two,  as  the  horse  who  lives  to  be  more  than  ten  years 
old  loses  nothing  so  easily  as  one  or  two  years  of  his 
age. 

"Our  reasons  for  stating  his  age  as  we  have  are 
these :  Mr.  George  Sherman,  son  of  James  Sherman, 
informs  us  that  he  has  now  been  married  forty-live 
years  ;  and  that,  in  the  summer  after  he  was  married,  his 
father  let  him  take  the  horse,  then  a  colt,  to  keep  and 
use.  Mr.  Sherman's  wife  also  well  recollects  the  above 
facts :  but  neither  of  them  can  say  positively  whether 
the  colt  was  two  or  three  years  old,  though  both  of 
them  think  he  was  three  ;  and,  from  the  fact  that  Mr. 
Sherman  used  him  a  good  deal  that  summer,  it  seems 
most  probable  that  such  was  his  age.  Sherman  was 
sired  by  the  Justin.  With  regard  to  the  blood  of  his 
dam,  much  has  been  said,  and  a  good  deal  written ;  but 
we  think  little  is  actually  known. 

"Mr.  George  Sherman  says  his  father  brought  the 
mare  from  Cranston,  R.L,  to  Lyndon,  Yt. ;  that  she 
was  a  chestnut,  of  good  size,  high-spirited,  and  an 
'elegant'  animal.     'We  called  her  of  Spanish  breed.' 

"The  late  Hon.  Epaphras  Seymour  of  Brattleborough, 
Yt,  a  gentleman  of  fortune  and  high  standing,  and 
passionately  fond  of  horses,  spent  much  time  in  endeav- 


320  THE  PERFECT  HORSE. 

oring  to  ascertain  the  pedigree  and  early  history  of  the 
Justin  Morgan  and  his  descendants.  Among  the  memo- 
randa left  by  him,  now  in  possession  of  the  Hon.  F. 
Holbrook,  which  the  latter  gentleman  has  kindly  per- 
mitted us  to  examine,  we  find  the  following  :  ^  Matthew 
Allen  of  Guildhall,  now  seventy  years  old,  or  over, 
informs  me  that  James  Sherman  and  himself  came  from 
Rhode  Island  to  St.  Johnsbury  in  1799.  Before  they 
left,  Mr.  John  Brown  of  Providence  gave  Mr.  Sherman 
an  imported  English  mare  of  great  beauty,  a  fine  saddle- 
mare,  and  so  used  by  his  daughters  (she  was  then  spav- 
ined). She  was  a  mahogany  brown,  fifteen  and  a  half 
hands  high,  delicate  make.'  Mr.  Allen  goes  on  to  state 
that  this  mare  was  the  dam  of  the  Sherman. 

*'Mr.  S.  C.  Gibbs  of  Littleton,  N.H.,  who  purchased 
the  horse  of  Mr.  James  Sherman,  gives  the  following 
account  of  the  dam :  '  She  was  bought  at  the  South 
(I  think  in  Virginia)  by  Mr.  John  Sherman  of  Provi- 
dence, R.I.,  who  had  friends  in  that  State.  He  pur- 
chased her  for  her  beauty  and  speed.  Soon  after  he 
returned  with  her,  she  unfortunately  slipped  her  hip. 
He  then  gave  her  to  his  brother  James  of  Lyndon.' 

"  It  has  also  been  said  that  the  dam  was  long  owned 
by  Nicholas  Brown  of  Providence,  RL,  one  of  the 
well-known  firm  of  Brown  &  Ives,  formerly  a  large 
importing-house.  Mr.  George  Sherman  says  his  father 
bought  the  mare  of  Dr.  Fiske  of  Cranston,  R.I.  It  is 
of  little  consequence  which  of  these  accounts  is  correct, 
as  none  of  them  undertake  to  give  her  pedigree.     If 


MORGAN  HORSE:    HIS  RELATION  TO   BREEDING.        321 

either  had  made  an  attempt  to  do  this,  the  question 
would  have  possessed  more  interest,  and  some  impor- 
tance. It  certainly  concerns  us  little  to  know  in  what 
manner  or  from  whom  Mr.  Sherman  obtained  her,  if 
we  cannot  go  beyond  that,  and  learn  something  of  her 
pedigree.  We  are  inclined  to  think  the  statement  of 
Mr.  Sherman  entitled  to  the  most  credit,  because  we 
think  his  means  of  knowing  the  facts  of  which  he 
speaks  were  much  superior  to  the  others.  His  father 
used  the  horse  several  years,  valued  him  highly,  and 
was  often  interrogated  as  to  the  dam.  George  must 
have  often  heard  his  father  describe  the  circumstances 
under  which  he  obtained  her:  they  must  have  been 
well  known  in  the  family ;  and  the  constantly-increasing 
fame  of  the  horse  would  keep  alive  in  its  members  the 
recollection  of  them  as  related  by  James  Sherman. 
Mr.  George  Sherman  is  a  man  whose  character  for  the 
most  unwavering  honesty  has  been  long  and  thoroughly 
established  where  he  is  known. 

"  Whoever  may  have  bred  the  mare,  and  whether  of 
Spanish  or  English  descent,  it  is  certain  she  was  a  fine 
animal.  She  was  chestnut,  with  three  white  feet,  and 
a  white  stripe  in  the  face.  Her  head  was  good ;  ears 
small ;  neck  light,  and  rather  long ;  not  very  compactly 
formed;  and  never  '  carried  much  flesh.'  She  carried 
her  head  high ;  was  a  spirited  traveller,  and  an  excellent 
saddle-beast.  She  was  very  pleasant-tempered,  and 
worked  kindly  in  all  places. 

"'Sherman'  was  a  bright   chestnut,   about  thirteen 

21 


322  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

and  three-quarters  hands  high,  and  weighed  nine  hun- 
dred and  twenty-five  pounds.  His  off  hind-leg  was 
white  from  the  foot  halfway  to  the  hock,  and  he  had  a 
small  white  stripe  in  the  face.  His  head  was  lean  and 
well  shaped ;  ears  small  and  fine ;  eyes  inclined  to  be 
small,  but  full,  prominent,  and  lively.  His  legs  had  some 
long  hairs  upon  the  back-side,  but  were  broad,  flat,  and 
sinewy.  He  had  a  capital  chest,  with  the  breast-bone 
very  prominent.  The  shoulders  were  large,  and  well 
placed ;  the  neck  excellent ;  the  mane  and  tail  full,  but 
not  remarkably  heavy.  His  hips  were  long  and  deep, 
the  loins  broad  and  muscular ;  but  he  was  a  little  hollow 
or  '  sway -backed  : '  still  no  suspicion  of  a  weak  back 
could  attach  to  him,  or  he  would  have  broken  down 
under  the  rough  treatment  he  received  in  early  life. 
When  four  years  old,  Mr.  Sherman  put  him  to  hard 
work ;  and  though,  for  about  two  months  in  the  spring 
of  each  year,  he  worked  but  little,  yet,  the  remainder  of 
the  year,  his  labor  was  very  severe.  Mr.  Sherman  was 
a  hard-working  man,  and  animals  under  his  charge  had 
few  opportunities  to  rest.  Most  of  the  year  the  horse 
was  kept  constantly  at  work  on  the  farm,  much  of 
which  he  helped  to  '  clear  up.'  In  the  winter,  Mr. 
Sherman  usually  ran  a  team  steadily  from  Lyndon,  Yt, 
to  Portland,  Me.  For  several  years,  this  team  consisted 
of  this  horse  and  a  half-brother,  sired  by  the  Justin 
Morgan,  a  year  older  and  a  little  larger  than  Sherman. 

''  Mr.    Sherman  was   not  a   man    to   be   outdone   at 
drawing  or  driving;  and  he  was  always  ready  to  match 


MORGAN   HORSE  :    HIS  RELATION  TO  BREEDING.        323 

his  team  against  any  he  met,  either  to  draw  or  run,  for 
a  trifling  wager.  His  '  little  team  '  became  famous  at 
every  inn  from  Lyndon  to  Portland ;  and,  after  a  time, 
the  teamsters  that  knew  them  were  afraid  to  match 
horses  of  any  size  against  them.  In  the  spring,  when 
the  sleighing  became  poor,  the  men  who  had  been  com- 
panions through  the  winter  in  the  severe  labor  of 
teaming  across  the  country  would  often  congregate  at 
the  village  taverns  to  spin  yarns  of  their  simple  but 
rough  adventures,  engaging  in  wrestling,  running  foot 
and  horse  races,  drawing-matches,  and  many  games 
invented  to  test  the  speed  or  strength  of  either  men  or 
horses.  In  addition  to  these  attractions,  the  prospect 
of  a  social  glass  of  '  old  Santa  Cruz '  may  have  had 
some  influence  in  drawing  together  the  people  collect- 
ed on  these  occasions ;  for  it  was  at  that  time  considered 
a  pleasant  beverage,  and  it  was  not  generally  known 
to  be  a  subtle  poison.  Certain  it  is  that  these  games 
were  well  attended,  and  were  conducted  with  much 
spirit.  Drawing-matches  were  at  that  time  very  com- 
mon. At  Lyndon,  the  usual  way  of  drawing  was  to 
attach  a  horse  to  a  sled,  fill  it  with  men,  and  draw  the 
load  up  a  steep  hill  just  north  of  the  tavern.  ^Wien 
each  Ms  utmost  strength  had  shoivn^^  Sherman  would 
add  a  small  boy  to  the  largest  load,  and  commence  the 
ascent,  well  satisfied  if  he  could  gain  two  or  three  feet 
at  a  pull ;  for  nothing  discouraged  his  horse,  and  it 
was  difficult  to  load  him  so  that  he  could  not  move  a 
little.     These  facts  are  perfectly  well  known  to  many 


324  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

persons  now  living  at  Lyndon  ;  and  we  mention  them, 
not  from  any  intrinsic  interest  they  may  possess,  but, 
having  said  that  Sherman  was  slightly  holloAV-backed, 
we  thought  it  necessary  to  show,  that,  if  so,  his  back 
was  by  no  means  weak. 

"  Such  was  the  kind  of  service  to  which  Mr.  Sher- 
man put  his  horse  from  the  time  he  was  four  years  old 
until  he  was  about  ten,  when  he  sold  him  to  Stephen 
C.  Gibbs  of  Littleton,  N.H.,  in  1819.  Mr.  Gibbs  kept 
him  one  year,  and  sold  him  to  John  Buckminster  of 
Danville,  Yt. ;  but  Mr.  Gibbs  had  charge  of  him  two 
years  longer.  After  this,  he  was  kept  at  Danville  and 
vicinity  until  1829,  when  he  was  purchased  of  Mr. 
Buckminster  by  Mr.  John  Bellows  of  Lancaster,  N.H. 
The  summer  of  1829  he  was  kept  at  Littleton,  N.H., 
in  charge  of  Stephen  C.  Gibbs ;  in  1830  he  was  kept 
at  Dover  and  vicinity  ;  in  1831  he  was  at  Col.  Jaques's 
Ten-hills  Farm,  Charlestown,  Mass.  ;  in  1832  he  was 
at  Dover  and  Durham,  N.H. ;  in  1833  he  was  kept  at 
Lancaster,  N.H. ;  and  in  1834,  at  Dover  and  vicinity. 
He  died  at  Mr.  Bellows's  stable,  in  Lancaster,  the  9th 
of  January,  1835.  The  cause  of  his  death  is  unknown. 
He  was  left  at  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning  apparently 
perfectly  well ;  and,  at  one  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  he 
was  found  dead. 

*'  With  the  exception  of  some  slight  indications  of 
age,  he  was  apparently  as  free  from  every  species  of 
blemish  or  infirmity  the  morning  of  the  day  he  died 
as  when  he  was  foaled.     His  skin  has  been  preserved 


MORGAN   HORSE:    HIS   RELATION   TO   BREEDING.        325 

and  stuffed,   and  may  still  be   seen  at  the   stable   of 
Mr.  George  Bellows,  at  Lancaster,  N.H. 

"  Sherman  had  not  so  bold  and  resolute  a  style  of 
action,  and  was  not  so  nervous  and  high-tempered,  as 
Woodbury ;  nor  was  he,  in  the  language  of  the  stable, 
so  well  '  finished  up  :  '  but  he  was  more  tractable  ;  was 
exceedingly  spirited,  and  a  keen,  rapid  driver ;  pos- 
sessed great  powers  of  endurance,  a  free  and  noble 
spirit  that  needed  neither  whip  nor  spur,  and  courage 
that  never  flagged. 

"Woodbury  —  sometimes  called  the  Burbank  Horse, 
and  known  in  Windsor  County  as  the  Walker  Horse  — 
was  foaled  the  latter  part  of  May,  1816,  the  property 
of  Lyman  Wight  of  Tunbridge,  Yt.  It  has  been  said 
that  he  was  raised  by  a  '  Mr.  White ; '  but  this  is  a  mis- 
take that  would  easily  occur.  The  pronunciation  of  the 
two  names  is  almost  the  same ;  and,  the  latter  being 
much  more  commonly  used,  the  name  has  been  mis- 
understood. Woodbury  was  sired  by  the  Justin  Mor- 
gan. Of  the  blood  of  his  dam  we  are  unable  to  learn 
any  thing.  At  the  time  the  colt  was  foaled,  Mr.  Lyman 
Wight  was  a  young  man,  about  eighteen  years  old ;  and 
the  dam  belonged  to  his  father,  William  Wight,  who 
had  loaned  her  to  his  son  for  the  purpose  of  raising  a 
colt.  She  was  five  years  old  when  the  colt  was  born. 
Mr.  Wight  purchased  her,  the  year  before,  of  a  Major 
John  Moulton  of  Bethel,  Yt.,  who  brought  her  into 
that  town.     She  was  large,  being  over  fifteen  hands 


326  THE  PEBFECT   HORSE. 

high ;  and  weighed  about  eleven  hundred  pounds :  she 
was  of  a  deep  bay-color,  with  black  legs,  mane,  and  tail, 
a  small  white  spot  in  the  forehead,  and  no  other  marks. 
She  was  not  very  compactly  made,  and  was  rather  flat- 
ribbed  ;  but  she  had  an  excellent  chest,  fine  shoulders 
and  hips,  and  excellent  limbs.  Her  head  was  very  fine, 
ears  good,  and  mane  and  tail  beautiful.  She  carried  her 
head  high,  was  a  very  free,  spirited  driver,  and  was 
called  fast  at  that  time.  She  both  paced  and  trotted, 
generally  starting  in  the  former  gait,  and,  after  going 
a  short  distance,  changing  it  for  a  trot.  When  trotting 
she  made  a  fine  appearance,  and,  going  fast,  attracted 
much  attention.  She  was  a  very  fast  walker.  The 
autumn  after  the  colt  was  foaled,  about  the  usual  time 
of  weaning,  Mr.  Wight  sold  him  to  David  Woodbury 
of  Bethel,  Vt.,  for  fifty  dollars.  Mr.  Woodbury  kept 
him  until  grown,  and  sold  him  to  his  brother  John. 

"  John  had  a  taste  for  good  horses;  and  in  his  hands 
the  horse  began  to  be  a  little  known.  He  kept  him  at 
Bethel  and  the  neighboring  towns  a  few  years,  and  sold 
him  to  Ebenezer  Parkhurst,  who  kept  him  in  the  same 
neighborhood  until  March,  1826,  when  he  sold  him  to 
Simon  Smith  and  William  Walker  of  Hartland,  Vt.,  for 
five  hundred  dollars.  Soon  after  this,  Messrs.  Smith 
and  Walker  dissolved  partnership,  Mr.  Walker  keeping 
Woodbury.  Mr.  Walker  had  a  passion  for  horses.  He 
saw  and  appreciated  the  remarkable  features  of  the 
Justin  Morgan  and  his  stock,  and  took  much  pains  to 
bring  them  into  notice ;  but,  like  many  a  pioneer  in  a 


i 


MORGAN   HORSE:     HIS   RELATION   TO   BREEDING.        327 

new  business,  he  could  not  make  it  pay :  and,  being  a 
man  of  small  means,  he  was  compelled  to  '  sacrifice  his 
horse,'  as  he  terms  it,  *  for  the  insignificant  sum  of 
four  hundred  dollars ; '  and  sold  him  to  Peter  Burbank, 
Esq.,  of  Newbury,  Vt.  Mr.  Burbank  was  a  lawyer, 
and  not  a  farmer  or  breeder ;  but  he  was  fond  of  horses, 
and  had  a  discriminating  eye  for  their  good  points;  and 
having  seen  the  Woodbury  at  Keene,  N.H.,  he  (in  his 
own  words)  '  fell  in  love  with  him  at  first  sight.' 
Fearing  to  trust  to  his  own  judgment  alone,  he  con- 
sulted Jesse  Johnson  of  Bradford,  Yt., — a  gentleman 
who  not  only  possesses-  excellent  taste  as  to  the  proper 
style  and  general  figure  of  a  fine  horse,  but  has  also 
that  close,  critical  eye  that  seems  almost  at  a  glance  to 
take  in  all  the  minute  defects  of  form  that  a  more  care- 
less observer  might  fiiil  to  discover.  Mr.  Johnson  did 
not  fail  to  perceive  the  extraordinary  merits  of  the 
horse,  and  advised  Mr.  Burbank  to  purchase  him ;  which 
he  did  the  20th  of  May,  1830.  From  this  time  until 
1836  he  was  taken  charge  of  by  Jesse  Johnson  and 
Brothers,  and  kept  at  their  place  in  Bradford,  Yt., 
during  the  winter  and  latter  part  of  the  summer  and 
autumn  of  each  year,  and  one  or  two  years  during  all 
the  seasons.  During  the  years  1830  and  1831,  he  re- 
mained at   their   stable  at  Bradford.     The  season  of 

1832  he  was   kept   at  Keene,   N.H.  ;    the   season   of 

1833  he  was  kept  at  Burlington,  Yt. ;  and  the  seasons 
of  1835  and  1836  he  was  kept  at  Bradford  and 
vicinity.     In    September,    1836,   Mr.   Burbank   having 


328  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

died,  the  administrators  of  his  estate  sold  him  to  Nor- 
man Baglee  of  Alabama,  who  took  him  to  Gainesville 
in  that  State,  where  he  died  in  1838,  being  twenty-two 
years  old. 

^'  Woodbury  was  fourteen  and  three-quarters  hands 
high,  and  weighed  from  nine  hundred  and  eighty-eight 
pounds  to  ten  hundred  and  forty  pounds.  He  was 
weighed  several  times ;  and  these  two  statements  of  his 
weight  at  different  times  are  the  extremes.  Many 
persons  who  have  frequently  seen  him  weighed  say 
they  never  knew  him  weigh  more  than  ten  hundred 
and  thirty,  nor  less  than  ten  hundred  and  fifteen 
pounds.  He  was  a  dark,  rich  chestnut.  His  off  hind-leg 
was  white  from  the  foot  half  way  to  the  hock ;  and  he 
had  a  white  stripe  in  his  face,  beginning  at  the  edge  of 
the  upper  lip,  filling  the  space  between  the  nostrils,  and 
extending  more  than  half  way  to  his  eyes.  His  mane 
was  not  very  thick  or  long,  and  was  lighter  than  either 
of  the  others :  still  it  was  full.  His  tail  was  cut  oiF 
when  a  colt,  and  left  about  ten  inches  long :  the  hair 
was  very  full  and  curly.  Both  mane  and  tail  were 
about  the  same  color  as  his  body.  The  hair  on  the 
body  was  fine,  short,  and  soft.  He  was  close  and  com- 
pactly built,  with  heavy  quarters  and  deep  flanks.  His 
chest  was  good,  and  the  shoulders  finely  shaped.  He 
had  a  short  back,  and  broad,  sinewy  loins.  His  legs  had 
some  long  hairs  on  the  back-side,  but  were  well  shaped, 
somewhat  larger  than  Sherman's,  and  not  so  large  as 
Bulrush's.    •  His  head  was  small  and  lean,  with  a  fine, 


MORGAN   horse:    HIS   RELATION   TO   BREEDING.        320 

firm  muzzle ;  the  nostrils  very  large  and  full ;  face 
straight,  very  wide  between  the  eyes,  which  were  dark 
hazel,  very  large  and  prominent,  and  showed  no  white 
around  the  edge  of  the  lid.  His  ears  were  small  and 
fine,  but  rather  short,  and  set  somewhat  wider  apart 
than  many  would  consider  consistent  with  perfect 
beauty.  His  style  of  action  was  bold  and  .resolute  ; 
and  his  temperament  was  so  nervous,  that,  when  taken 
out  with  a  bridle,  it  was  almost  impossible  to  keep  him 
still.  He  was  a  good  driver,  and  appeared  well  in 
harness  ;  but  he  appeared  to  the  best  advantage  under 
the  saddle.  Militia  colonels  and  generals  were  eager 
to  ride  him ;  and  no  '  musters  '  or  reviews  could  pass 
without  his  being  seen  :  in  his  case,  to  be  seen  Avas  to 
be  admired.     His  disposition  was  pleasant  and  playful. 

"  As  has  been  said,  he  was  taken  to  Gainesville,  Ala., 
in  the  autumn  of  1836,  being  then  twenty  years  old. 
He  was  shipped  from  Boston  on  board  a  small  sailing- 
vessel.  He  suffered  much  from  the  long  and  stormy 
passage,  and  never  fully  recovered  from  the  effects  of 
it.  It  is  altogether  likely  that  the  climate  and  food  did 
not  agree  with  him ;  for  neither  was  such  as  he  had  been 
accustomed  to  :  however  this  may  be,  it  is  certain  he 
continued  to  fail  until  he  died,  in  1838.  Woodbury 
was  the  largest  of  these  horses,  and  possessed  in  a 
greater  degree  the  bold,  fearless,  and  showy  style  of 
their  sire.  He  was  more  nervous  and  less  tractable 
than  Sherman,  better  under  the  saddle,  not  so  pleasant 
in  harness,  and,  we  are  inclined  to  think,  hai'dly  as  good 


330  THE   PERFECT   HORSE. 

a  roadster.  His  form  was  more  symmetrical  than  either 
of  the  others.  Plis  breast  was  not  so  full  and  prominent 
as  Sherman's.  He  was  deeper  in  the  flanks,  and  better 
quartered.  No  horse  ever  had  less  fear.  Martial  music 
only  roused  him ;  the  firing  of  guns  in  no  way  disturbed 
him;  waving  flags  and  gay  uniforms  seemed  hardly  able 
to  attract  from  him  a  single  glance;  and  he  moved 
about  as  if  he  were  himself  the  principal  object  of 
attraction,  and  the  cause  of  all  the  attending  excitement 
and  display. 

*' Bulrush  was  foaled  in  1812  or  1813.  Of  this  we 
think  there  can  be  no  reasonable  doubt ;  although 
it  has  been  stated  that  he  was  foaled  in  1816.  We 
have  consulted  persons  who  owned  both  Bulrush  and 
Woodbury ;  and  they  all  agree  that  Bulrush  was  the 
older  of  the  two.  Now,  there  is  no  question  but  that 
Woodbury  was  foaled  in  1816  ;  and,  if  Bulrush  was 
older,  it  is  altogether  probable  that  he  was  more  than 
one  year  older :  for  the  Justin  Morgan  was  taken  to 
Claremont  early  in  the  spring  of  1814,  and  remained 
there  one  year ;  and  the  dam  of  Bulrush  was  owned  in 
Randolph,  Yt.,  the  year  he  was  sired ;  so  that,  in  the 
absence  of  any  other  testimony,  we  might  very  reason- 
ably conclude  that  he  was  not  foaled  later  than  1814. 
But  the  testimony  of  Chester  Belknap  is  clear  and 
direct,  that  he  was  foaled  in  1812.  Mr.  Belknap  was 
married  in  1819.  His  father,  who  raised  the  horse, 
owned  him  at  that  time,   and  soon  after  sold  him  to 


MORGAN  horse:    HIS  RELATION  TO  BREEDING.        o6l 

Abel  Densmorc  of  Chelsea,  Yt.  :  lie  was  then  seven 
years  old.  This  statement  of  Mr.  Belknap's  in  relation 
to  the  age  of  Bulrush  is  confirmed  by  many  persons 
who  knew  him  well ;  and  there  can  hardly  be  a  doubt 
that  it  is  correct.  The  blood  of  the  dam  of  Bulrush  is 
unknown.  She  was  a  dark  bay,  with  black  legs,  and 
heavy  black  mane  and  tail.  She  was  low  and  compact ; 
had  heavy  limbs,  with  large  joints;  neck  rather  long ;  a 
good  head,  but  did  not  carry  it  up  very  well.  She  was 
a  sharp  trotter,  but  was  not  a  very  spirited  driver.  She 
was  said  to  be,  and  had  the  appearance  of  being,  part 
French.  She  was  owned  by  Mr.  Moses  Belknap  of 
Randolph,  Yt.,  at  the  time  Bulrush  was  sired.  Mr. 
Belknap  obtained  her  of  a  Mr.  Boutwell,  a  teamster 
from  Montpelier,  Yt.,  who  worked  her  in  a  six-horse 
team,  hauling  merchandise  and  produce  between  Mont- 
pelier and  Boston.  She  was  a  very  rugged,  hardy,  en- 
during animal ;  but  Mr.  Boutwell  thought  her  too  small 
for  his  business,  and  he  exchanged  her  with  Mr.  Belk- 
nap for  a  larger  horse.  She  weighed  about  ten  hun- 
dred pounds.  Mr.  Belknap  sold  her  late  in  the  winter, 
when  in  foal  by  Justin  Morgan,  to  Ziba  GijBford,  Esq.,  of 
Tunbridge,  Yt. ;  Mr.  Gifford  to  keep  the  colt  until  four 
months  old,  and  return  it  to  Mr.  Belknap ;  or  pay  thir- 
teen dollars  more,  and  keep  it.  Mr.  Gifford  preferred 
to  return  the  colt ;  and  did  so. 

"Mr.  Belknap  kept  Bulrush  in  Tunbridge  and  vicini- 
ty until  1819,  when  he  sold  him  to  Abel  Densmore  of 
Chelsea,  Yt.    Mr.  Densmore  sold  him  to  Darius  Sprague 


332  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

of  Randolph,  Yt. ;  who  sold  him,  March  8,  1826,  to 
Messrs.  Simon  Smith  and  William  Walker  of  Hartland, 
Yt,  for  three  hundred  and  fifty  dollars.  They  kept 
him  at  Hartland  and  vicinity  until  they  dissolved  part- 
nership in  1829,  when  Mr.  Smith  took  Bulrush  to  Maid- 
stone, Yt.  He  kept  him  one  year  at  Chelsea,  and  two 
years  in  the  State  of  Maine  ;  and  in  1833  sold  him  to 
Jesse  Johnson  and  Brothers  of  Bradford,  Yt.  The 
season  of  1833  he  was  kept  at  Bradford,  Yt.,  and 
Bath,  N.H.  ;  the  season  of  1834,  at  Keene,  N.H.  ;  the 
season  of  1835,  at  Lyme,  N.H.,  and  Bradford,  Yt. ; 
and  the  season  of  1836,  at  Burlington,  Yt.  During  the 
winter  of  1836  and  1837  the  Messrs.  Johnson  sold  him 
to  Messrs.  Blake  and  Foss  of  Chelsea,  Yt.,  who  kept 
him  in  that  town  until  1842,  when  they  sold  him  to 
Lewis  Jenkins  of  Fairlee,  Yt.,  who  kept  him  at  Fairlee 
until  he  sold  him  to  F.  A.  Weir  of  AYalpole,  N.H.,  who 
kept  him  until  he  died,  in  1848. 

"  Bulrush  was  a  dark  bay,  with  a  few  white  hairs  in 
his  forehead,  and  no  other  marks.  His  legs,  mane,  and 
tail  were  black ;  and  his  mane  and  tail  were  very  heavy : 
the  former  came  down  nearly  to  his  knees,  and  his 
fore  top  came  doAvn  to  his  nose.  His  tail  was  cut  off 
when  young,  and  left  about  nine  or  ten  inches  long. 
His  legs  were  large,  and  had  some  long  hair;  were  close- 
jointed,  broad,  flat,  and  exhibited  a  more  striking  de- 
velopment of  muscle  than  either  Woodbury's  or  Sher- 
man's. His  back  was  not  so  short  as  either  of  the 
others' ;  but  it  was  very  broad,  and  he  was  freer  from 


MORGAN  HORSE  :    HIS   RELATION  TO  BREEDING.        333 

any  imputation  of  sway-back  than  any  of  his  brothers ; 
though,  towards  the  close  of  his  life,  he  indeed  fell  away 
in  his  loins,  as  is  always  the  case  in  old  stallions.  His 
hips  were  very  good,  but  not  so  long  as  Sherman's ;  and 
he  was  not  so  well  quartered  as  Woodbury ;  but  he  was 
deeper  in  the  chest  than  either  of  them.  His  shoulders 
were  thicker,  and  not  so  well  placed ;  and  his  head  and 
neck  were  not  so  well  set  up.  He  was  not  so  proud, 
bold,  and  lofty  in  his  carriage,  as  Woodbury ;  and  he 
had  not  Sherman's  short,  nervous  step,  and  tractable  but 
high-spirited  temper  :  but  he  was  a  sharp,  quick  driver, 
and  a  faster  trotter  than  either  of  them.  He  was  a 
little  inclined  to  be  cross ;  but  was  not  fierce,  or  in  any 
respect  unmanageable  :  on  the  contrary,  he  w^as  very 
kind  in  harness,  always  working  pleasantly  wherever 
put.  His  most  remarkable  characteristic  was  his  power 
of  endurance.  For  this,  we  think  it  is  generally  admit- 
ted, he  had  no  rival ;  and  his  extraordinary  lastingness 
has  become  proverbial  where  he  was  known.  His  stock 
bear  a  strong  resemblance  to  him,  and  are  very  numer- 
ous ;  are  mostly  dark  bay  without  marks,  never  sorrel 
or  light  chestnut.  Occasionally  a  dark  gray,  from  a 
white  mare,  may  be  found.  Bulrush  was  about  fourteen 
hands  high,  and  weighed  about  one  thousand  pounds. 

"Bulrush,  Sherman,  and  Woodbury  were  treated 
very  much  alike.  Until  after  ten  years  old,  each  of 
them  was  employed  most  of  the  time  at  the  ordinary 
team-work  of  a  farm ;  and  at  no  period  of  their  lives  did 
they  have  any  more  care  than  the  common  horses  of 


334  THE  PERFECT  HORSE. 

the  country,  and  never  had  much  knowledge  of  thick 
blankets  and  warm  stables,  but  were  early  inured  to  the 
labor  and  hardship,  fatigue  and  exposure,  incident  to  a 
new  and  mountainous  country  and  a  cold  climate.  It  is 
not  improbable  that  the  cold,  dry  atmosphere  and  pure 
water  of  our  mountains  has  contributed  as  much  as  the 
rich  pastures  of  our  valleys  to  the  stoutness,  courage, 
and  lastingness  of  our  horses. 

"We  have  thus  slightly  sketched  the  more  obvious 
distinctions  and  general  characteristics  of  these  celebrat- 
ed sons  of  the  original  or  Justin  Morgan.  While  they 
differed  in  the  particulars  we  have  herein  set  forth, 
(which  difference  was  rather  in  the  degree  than  the  na- 
ture of  their  qualities),  they  all  possessed  the  great  and 
striking  features  of  their  distinguished  sire.  The  same 
compactness  of  form,  great  muscular  development, 
hardy,  rugged  constitution,  docility  and  tractableness, 
short,  easy,  rapid  step,  eager  ambition,  and  lofty  cour- 
age, so  remarkable  in  him,  were  found  in  each  of  them 
in  a  high  degree.  Through  these  noble  channels  the 
blood  of  the  Justin  Morgan  has  been  poured  profusely 
into  the  hitherto  hardy  stock  of  Vermont,  conveying 
not  only  the  very  form  of  the  great  original,  but  all  his 
unrivalled  vigor,  grace,  and  ease  of  motion,  combined 
with  his  docility  and  matchless  courage." 

To  resume  our  remarks,  I  would  observe  that  we 
must  consider  that  New  England  has  never  had  any 
stock -horses  able  to  perpetuate    their  name   and  fame 


MORGAN   HORSE:    HIS   RELATION  TO   BREEDING.        335 

save  those  of  Morgan  blood.     Hiram  Woodruff,  in  his 
"  Trotting-Horse  of  America,"  says,  p.  283,  — 

"  The  Eastern  States  have  always  been  a  fine  nursery 
for  trotting-horses.  The  fine  action  of  the  Morgan 
breed,  and  their  good  tempers  and  sound  constitutions, 
helped  a  great  deal ;  but  New  England  was  still  more 
largely  indebted  to  the  two  sons  of  Messenger,  —  Ham- 
bletonian  and  Bush  Messenger:  I  mean  the  one  that 
went  to  Maine." 

Now,  I  would  like  to  ask  what  ground  is  there  to  say 
that  New  England  is  more  indebted  to  the  Messenger 
than  the  Morgan  blood  ?     Why,  there  was  not  strength 
enough  in  the  Bush  Messenger  to  establish  a  family,  or 
even  a  branch  of  a  family.     Where  is  there  a  Messen- 
ger stallion  in  Maine  that  traces  back  to  the  original 
Bush  Messenger  as  Gen.  Knox  traces  back  directly  to 
old  Justin  Morgan  ?     What  Messenger  horse  in  Maine 
has  ever  gotten  a  Gilbreth  Knox,  or  Camors?     Go  to 
Vermont,  and  find  a  descendant  of  a  Hambletonian  horse 
that  has  ever  trotted  a  mile  in  2.15  as  Ethan  Allen  has. 
The  fact  is,  there  are  no  such  descendants.     The  words 
"  Hambletonian  "  and  "Bush  Messenger"  can  be  seen 
very  plainly  on  paper ;  but,  when  you  come  to  search 
for  stallions   descended  from   them,  where   are   they  ? 
Is  there  one  in   Maine?     Can   you  find   one   in   New 
Hampshire  ?     What  town  in  Vermont  shall  I  visit   to 
see   one  ?     Has   Massachusetts   any  ?     How   many  are 
there  in  Connecticut?     The  fact  is,  New  England  has 
not,  and  never  has  had,  any  famous  stock-horse  outside 


336  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

of  the  Morgan  family.  Look  over  the  field  and  at  the 
list  to-day.  Gen.  Knox  and  his  great  son  Gilbreth,  Win- 
throp  Morrill,  Fearnaught,  Taggart's  Abdallah,  Ethan 
Allen  and  his  wonderful  stock-getting  son  Lambert, 
Young  Morrill,  Woodstock  Morrill,  Gen.  Lyon,  Defiance, 
and  many  others,  all  trace  back  straight  to  old  Justin 
Morgan.  Now,  over  against  this  list  I  ask  the  reader  to 
put  the  Bush-Messenger  stock  or  Hambletonian  stock, 
to  which  some  people  think  New  England  is  so  in- 
debted for  her  fast  horses.  The  truth  is,  the  Morgan 
family  has  no  rival  in  New  England,  and  never  has  had. 
The  Clay  stock  and  the  Hambletonian  stock  may,  in  the 
future,  enter  the  field  in  competition ;  but,  up  to  this 
time,  the  wreath  belongs  to  the  Morgans. 

I  have  already  shown  that  three  of  the  four  great 
elements  needed  to  make  a  perfect  horse  —  viz.,  beauty, 
docility,  endurance  —  the  Morgan  horse  had  and  has. 
But  men  say,  ^'  The  Morgan  horse  had  no  speed."  The 
ignorance  or  audacity  that  prompts  this  assertion  is 
simply  astounding.  The  truth  is,  no  family  of  horses  in 
America  has  ever  produced  so  many  fast  trotting-horses 
as  the  Morgan.  If  you  ask  what  I  call  a  fast  horse,  I 
respond,  A  horse  that  will  trot  a  mile  in  a  public  race  in 
2.40  is  a  fast  horse.  Of  all  the  races  trotted  this  year 
in  public,  it  is  safe  to  say  that  the  average  rate  of 
speed  will  not  be  under  2.40.  I  take  it,  therefore,  as  a 
standard ;  and  a  fair  one  it  is  too  ;  and,  in  proof  of 
what  I  have  said,  I  refer  the  reader  to  the  "  record  "  of 
time  made  by  Morgan  horses  on  pp.  300,  301. 


MORGAN   HOKSE:    HIS  RELATION  TO   BREEDING.        337 

I  do  not  wish  to  have  any  suppose  that  I  regard  the 
Morgan  family  of  horses  as  sufficient  in  itself  to  meet 
the  wants  of  the  future  in  respect  to  breeding.     The 
perfect  horse,  or  rather  the  family  of  perfect  horses,  is 
yet  to  appear.     That  it  will  appear  in  due  time,  I  have 
no  doubt ;  but  it  will  not  appear  while  ignorance  and 
prejudice,  or  mere  chance  of  locality,  is  allowed  to  dic- 
tate the  selection  of  dam  and  horse  from  which  the  foal 
is  to  spring.     So  long  as   a   Fearnaught  ^an  can  see 
nothing  valuable  in  a  Knox  or  a  Lambert,  or  a  patron 
of  Hambletonian  will  not  admit  that  great  excellences 
exist  in  the  Clays,  —  so  long  as  such  arrogant  and  non- 
sensical opinions  prevail,  the  perfect  horse  can  never  be 
raised,  unless  as  an  accident ;    but  when  the  breeders 
of  the  country  will  drop  their  foolishness  and  envious 
fear  one  of  another,  and  come  together  as  friends,  and 
students  of  those  laws  which  govern  the  propagation 
of  animals,  and  seek  to  assist,  rather  than  thwart,  each 
other,  then  will   the  first  step  be  taken  in  that  path 
along  which  the  enterprise  can  walk  to  its  highest  suc- 
cess.    For  one,  I  regard  myself  happy  in  this,  —  that  I 
am  free  from  prejudice,  devoid  of  envy,  and  know  no 
other  rivalry  than  that  of  generous  and  candid  emu- 
lation.     In   my  native    State,   where   are   my   stables, 
are  several  stock-horses  worthy  of  public  patronage,  — 
Buckingham,    Thomas    Jefferson,    Rysdyk,    Mambrino, 
Ashland.     These  horses  are  not  enemies,  they  are  allies, 
of  mine.     From   their  get  I  look  to  receive  my  best 
crosses  in  the  future.     The  bloods  of  Bashaw,  Hamble- 

22 


338  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

tonian,  Lexington,  are  precious  bloods  to  me.  They 
will  re-enforce  my  stables  with  strains  otherwise  unat- 
tainable. I  would  that  Connecticut  had  twenty  such 
animals!  They  would  add  fifty  per  cent  to  my  chances 
of  success.  This,  as  I  understand  it,  is  not  only  honora- 
ble in  point  of  feeling,  but  wise  in  point  of  business. 
The  owners  of  celebrated  stock-horses  can  only  be  ene- 
mies while  they  are  ignorant.  The  moment  that  one  is 
intelligent  enough  to  perceive  and  appreciate  the  lack 
of  certain  excellences  in  his  family  of  colts,  that  mo- 
ment he  naturally  resorts  to  the  owner  of  some  other 
breed  for  assistance  ;  and  so  financial  profit  and  friendly 
companionship  run  into  each  other,  and  become  one. 

I  have  been  asked  to  write  my  impressions  touching 
the  proper  families  which  could  be  mutually  benefited 
by  intercrossing.  I  know  no  reason  why  my  views 
should  not  be  frankly  stated ;  and  I  propose  to  write 
them  out  for  the  reader's  inspection,  letting  them  go  for 
what  they  are  worth. 

Of  the  Hambletonian  family  —  which,  of  course,  is  the 
same  with  the  Abdallahs,  save  in  name  —  I  have  this  to 
say :  Many  of  the  old  horse's  get  are  no  honor  to  him, 
and  unfit  for  stock-purposes.  His  best  sons  are  those 
out  of  Star  mares,  or  thorough-breds  of  other  families. 
With  such  mares  for  dams,  his  get  is  remarkable,  and 
worthy  of  all  patronage  by  the  public.  With  his  third 
and  fourth  rate  sons  no  breeder  should  have  any  thing 
to  do.  As  a  family,  they  are  open  to  the  charge  of 
being  too   heavy  and  coarse-looking  for  beauty,  with 


MORGAN  horse:    HIS  RELATION  TO  BREEDING.        339 

head,  ears,  and  legs  larger  than  they  should  be;  over 
long  in  the  back  ;  and  although  they  are  great  striders, 
yet  their  heels  stay  too  long  under  the  wagon.  A  first- 
class  son  of  the  old  horse  is  likely  to  be  a  prize :  the 
others  should  be  let  severely  alone. 

In  respect  to  the  Clays  I  have  this  to  say  :  That  cer- 
tain parties  have  seen  fit  to  attempt  to  underrate  their 
sterling  qualities,  and  to  fasten  upon  them  an  odious 
epithet.  It  has  been  a  sweet  saying  in  certain  mouths 
that  the  "  Clays  wouldn't  stick."  Hiram  WoodruiF  dis- 
covered that  George  M.  Patchen  would  "  stick  "  a  little 
too  near  him  for  comfort,  even  when  he  had  that  marvel 
of  speed  and  bottom,  Flora  Temple,  —  and  in  her  highest 
condition  too,  —  ahead  of  him.  I  had  the  pleasure  of 
seeing  Goldsmith's  Maid  trot  her  greatest  heat  at  Mystic 
Track  when  she  made  the  mile  in  2.16| ;  and  I  saw  a 
Clay  mare  named  Lucy  — ■  not  an  entire  stranger  to  the 
trotting-public,  I  think  —  stick  so  close  to  the  flying 
beauty,  that  the  least  waver  or  let-up  in  her  gait  would, 
up  to  the  very  moment  she  darted  under  the  wire,  have 
lost  her  the  race.  So  long  as  the  name  of  George  M. 
Patchen, — the  only  horse  that  could  ever  keep  his  nose 
to  Flora  Temple's  saddle-girths  the  mile  round,  —  and 
Lucy,  —  the  only  horse  living  able  to  keep  at  the  shoul- 
ders of  Goldsmith  Maid  from  wire  to  wire,  —  so  long  as 
these  names  remain,  the  man  who  says  that  the  "  Clays 
will  not  stick,"  but  are  "quitters,"  is  a  fool  or  a  slan- 
derer ;  for  Patchen  was  the  greatest  horse,  save  one,  of  his 
day,  and  Lucy  is  the  fastest  horse,  save  one,  in  our  time. 


840  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

The  Clays  are  a  valuable  family;  and  no  one  can  gain- 
say it.  I  would  cross  them  with  the  Morgan  family. 
A  Clay  mare  crossed  with  Ethan  Allen  or  his  son  Lam- 
bert, or  Taggart's  Abdallah,  would,  in  my  opinion,  be 
exceedingly  likely  to  bring  forth  a  foal  whose  speed 
would  only  be  rivalled  by  his  beauty.  The  same  cross 
essentially  would  be  gotten  by  coupling  the  mare  with 
Gold  Dust,  in  whose  veins  the  blood  of  the  Morgan  and 
the  Arabian  happily  unite.  I  think  New  England 
would  be  greatly  the  gainer  if  several  first-class  Gold- 
Dust  and  Clay  stallions  were  brought  within  her  borders. 

The  Morrill  tribe  is  a  branch  of  the  Morgan  family, 
and  quite  largely  re-enforced  with  Messenger  blood ; 
the  original  Morrill  horse  being  a  great-grandson  of 
imported  Messenger.  They  are,  as  a  class,  a  trifle  coarse, 
and  of  over-size ;  but  they  are  marvels  of  muscular 
development  and  of  high  and  generous  spirit.  They 
are  born  trotters,  and  of  most  imposing  action.  The 
Fearnaught  branch  of  this  family  is  the  most  noted,  and 
represents  the  happy  result  of  coarsenesss  bred  away, 
and  speed  and  vigor  retained.  I  think  a  first-class 
Morrill  filly,  bred  to  Taggart's  Abdallah,  or  Lambert, 
would  produce  a  colt  that  would  gladden  a  horseman's 
eye. 

The  Knox  horses  belong  to  another  branch  of  the 
Morgan  family.  They  are  marked  strongly  with  the 
trot  ting-instinct.  Gilbreth  Knox  is  one  of  the  very  fast- 
est stallions  of  the  country,  of  fine  appearance  and  most 
excellent  disposition,  and   should  be  kept  as  a  stock- 


MORGAN  HORSE  :     HIS  RELATION  TO   BREEDING.        341 

horse.  It  is  a  public  loss  when  such  an  animal  is 
monopolized  for  private  purposes.  The  Knox  colts 
are  apt  to  be  rather  coarse,  especially  about  the  head ; 
and  should  be  crossed  with  fine-bred,  gamy-looking 
mares.  Their  friends  must  understand  that  speed  alone 
is  not  enough  to  make  a  colt  valuable  to-day,  save  for 
pure  gambling-purposes;  that  beauty  must  be  borne 
in  mind  when  breeding.  A  coarse  head,  big  ears, 
small  eyes,  and  long  hair,  are  detestable  in  a  true 
horseman's  eye,  and  should  be  bred  out  of  the  family 
which  happens  to  be  cursed  with  them  just  as  soon  as 
it  is  possible  to  do  it.  The  fact  is,  the  Messenger  family 
was  a  coarse-looking  family.  The  old  Messenger  was  a 
coarse  horse :  his  most  famous  descendant,  Abdallah,  was 
coarser  yet,  with  a  big  head,  little  or  no  mane,  a  rat- 
tail,  an  overplus  of  bone-substance,  and  an  ashen-colored 
rump.  This  ancestral  coarseness  is  continually  cropping 
out  in  his  descendants.  There  is  more  than  one  colt  in 
America  with  the  homely  Abdallah  body  and  Messenger 
head,  without  their  speed.  Tliorough-hred  does  not  al- 
ways mean  beauty  by  a  long-shot,  as  the  lop-eared 
Melbournes  and  the  coarse-looking  Messengers  prove. 
Breed  an  Abdallah  mare  to  a  high-bred  Morgan  stal- 
lion, and  you  will  be  very  likely  to  get  a  colt  with 
the  beauty  of  the  sire  and  the  speed  of  the  dam. 
If  you  do,  you  have  got  a  "hit"  indeed. 

But  I  will  detain  the  reader  no  longer  with  my 
speculations.  The  task  which  has  consumed  the  leisure 
of  years  is  completed  ;   and  I  have,  at  least,  the  author's 


342  THE  PERFECT  HORSE. 

pleasure,  —  that  his  work  at  last  is  done.  Amid  other 
and  graver  cares,  its  composition  has  been  a  delight. 
My  mind  has  felt,  in  writing  it,  like  a  boy  at  play. 
It  has  revelled  in  what  to  some  might  seem  a  toil ; 
and  even  now  it  hovers  over  the  closing  page  as 
a  bee  mif^ht  hover  around  a  flower  to  which  it  had 
given  nothing  but  the  music  of  its  presence,  from  which 
it  had  received  food  and  sweetness  for  cold  and  dreary 
days.  If,  while  thus  ministering  to  my  own  happiness, 
I  have  added  any  thing  at  all  to  the  common  good,  in 
adding  to  which  man  finds  his  best  and  only  lasting 
monument,  I  am  more  than  repaid. 


AGEICULTUEE  AND  THE  HOESE. 


BY  GEORGE  B.  LORING. 


843 


AGEICULTUEE  AND  THE  HOESE. 

BY  GEORGE  B.  LORING. 

When,  in  the  early  spring  of  1864,  a  large  body 
of  the  representative  farmers  of  the  New-England  States 
assembled  at  Worcester,  in  response  to  my  call,  for  the 
purpose  of  organizing  the  New-England  Agricultural 
Society,  it  was  undoubtedly  true  that  no  man  of  all 
that  enterprising  number  had  any  definite  idea  of  the 
precise  object,  or  of  the  possible  result,  of  the  proposed 
organization.  New  England  was  then,  as  it  is  now, 
full  of  local  and  state  agricultural  societies,  all  engaged 
in  useful  labor.  But  the  suggestion  that  new  energy 
might  be  infused  into  the  agricultural  community  by 
a  new  association,  in  which  a  broader  field  might  be 
represented,  in  which  a  wider  interest  might  be  awa- 
kened, and  in  which  a  larger  class  of  teachers  and 
learners  might  be  gathered  together,  was  enthusias- 
tically accepted ;  while  the  problem  was  left  to  work 
itself  out  in  its  own  way.  The  belief  that  something 
might  be  done,  both  by  investigation  and  by  experi- 
ment, for  the  benefit  of  agriculture,  was  unanimously 

845 


846  AGEICULTURE  AND  THE  HORSE. 

entertained.  It  is  probable  that  an  interchange  of 
thought  among  the  men  of  New  England  had  its  charms 
for  many,  especially  for  that  large  class  of  agricultural 
debaters  who  will  not,  under  any  circumstances,  allow 
any  question  to  be  definitely  settled.  There  were  those 
who  looked  forward  to  the  publication  of  an  elaborate, 
well-prepared,  scientific  periodical  of  agricultural  litera- 
ture, in  which  the  most  accurate  deductions  and  laws 
might  be  found.  An  enlarged  acquaintance  among 
the  farmers  of  New  England,  a  better  knowledge  of 
the  various  modes  of  agriculture  adopted  by  them,  a 
kind  association  with  each  other  superior  to  all  differ- 
ences of  opinion,  had  great  temptations,  and  were 
full  of  pleasing  promise  to  many.  Those  gentlemen 
who  represented  the  agriculture  of  Maine  were  rejoiced 
to  bring  their  observations  upon  the  horses  and  grass- 
lands and  cattle  and  potato-patches  of  that  State  into 
a  wider  field :  and  as  they  enlarged  upon  what  they 
had  done,  and  were  doing,  along  their  varied  seashore, 
and  in  the  valleys  of  the  Kennebec  and  Penobscot  and 
Sandy  Hivers,  they  listened  with  intense  interest  to 
the  wise  discourse  of  the  merino -kings  of  Vermont 
upon  the  subject  of  sheep-husbandry ;  and  to  the  views 
of  the  tobacco-growers  and  market-gardeners  and  fruit- 
raisers  of  Massachusetts  upon  the  best  methods  of 
wringing  from  the  soil  the  largest  and  most  profitable 
crops ;  and  to  the  discussion  of  the  herdsmen  of  Rhode 
Island  and  Connecticut  upon  the  comparative  merits 
of  their  Short-horns  and  Devons  and  Ayrshires;   and 


AGRICULTURE   AND   THE   HORSE.  347 

to  the  well-expressed  opinions  of  the  Nestor  of  New- 
England  agriculture,  as  he  told  of  all  the  various 
economies  of  his  own  State  of  New  Hampshu'c,  with 
her  hard  soil  and  industrious  people.  New  light 
poured  in  from  every  quarter.  It  became  evident  that 
nothing  would  satisfy  this  inquiring  and  busy  multi- 
tude but  an  exhibition  of  their  own  cattle  and  crops, 
and  implements  of  husbandry;  and  that  no  questions 
could  be  settled  by  them,  except  through  observation 
and  investigation.  The  exhibition  at  Springfield,  the 
first  year  of  the  organization  of  the  society,  was  re- 
markable for  the  intellectual  and  material  wealth  which 
it  brought  together.  It  was  a  new  day  for  New- 
England  farming.  The  debaters  were  out.  Agassiz, 
for  the  first  time,  presented  his  wealth  of  scientific 
culture  in  his  discussions  with  the  practical  breeders 
and  cultivators.  Gov.  Andrew  poured  forth  the  great- 
ness of  a  great  agricultural  address.  Many  an  obscure 
herd  came  up  for  the  honors  of  the  occasion.  Horses 
as  yet  unknown  to  fame  sought  the  "bubble  reputation'' 
there  for  the  first  time.  New-England  ingenuity  cov- 
ered the  ground  with  implements  new  and  old,  tried 
and  untried.  The  cultivators  of  crops  brought  out 
their  most  startling  products.  Representatives  of  the 
fabulous  flocks  of  Vermont  came  forth  to  demonstrate 
the  value  of  their  golden  fleeces.  The  occasion  was 
memorable  for  all  the  domestic  birds  of  the  air,  and 
beasts  of  the  field. 

Among  the  most  attractive  and  absorbing  of  all  the 


348  AGKICULTURE   AND  THE  HORSE. 

topics  which  occupied  the  attention  of  those  who  sat 
around  the  cradle  of  the  New-England  Agricultural 
Society  was  the  Horse.  The  precise  relations  which 
the  horse  holds  to  agriculture ;  the  profit  to  be  derived 
from  breeding  this  animal;  his  true  value  in  an  eco- 
nomic point  of  view ;  the  exact  utility  of  an  animal  which 
matures  slowly,  leads  an  expensive  life,  is  not  used  for 
food,  has  a  sentimental  as  well  as  a  useful  existence; 
how  best  to  breed  him,  and  feed  him,  and  shelter  him, 
and  shoe  him,  and  drive  him ;  how  to  admit  him  into 
the  agricultural  circle,  —  these  subjects  occupied,  and 
somewhat  confused  and  disturbed,  the  minds  of  those 
agricultural  fathers  assembled  there.  That  there  was 
deep  respect  for  the  horse  there,  no  one  could  deny. 
That  there  was  considerable  doubt  about  him,  was  very 
evident.  That  there  was  a  great  deal  of  ignorance  with 
regard  to  him,  was  manifest.  That  he  was  very  much 
misunderstood,  was  apparent.  When  the  question  was 
asked,  how  to  breed  a  really  good  horse  for  a  specific 
purpose,  —  a  horse  of  intelligence  and  patience,  and 
courage  and  sagacity,  and  good  physical  powers,  —  it 
was  delightful  to  see  with  what  sublime  simplicity  the 
great  disciple  of  the  great  Cuvier  sat  and  listened  to 
the  profound  deductions  of  the  practical  breeders  who 
had  kept  practical  stallions,  whose  success  they  were 
anxious  to  attribute  more  to  their  own  practical  wis- 
dom than  to  the  occasional  good  fortune  which  will 
always  attend  a  multitude  of  chances.  When  the 
question  of  feeding  arose,  it  was  surprising  to  see  by 


AGRICULTURE  AND   THE  HORSE.  349 

what  various  dietetic  processes  a  good  colt  could  be 
brought  to  the  most  complete  and  thorough  maturity. 
When  the  problem  of  an  ailing  dumb  beast,  ignorant 
of  its  own  sensations,  and  incapable  of  communicating 
its  story  of  aches   and  pains  to   others,   came   up,   the 
multifarious    remedies    astonished  an   observing  mind 
more  than  the  diverse  and  complicated  diseases.     That 
there  was  a  little   confusion  now  and  then  cannot  be 
denied,  but  no  more  than  may  be  found   on  almost 
every  subject  in  a  large  general  assembly.     There  was 
a  good  deal  said  about  the  value  of  the  thorough-bred 
as    a    trotter,   and  the  worthlessness  of    cold-blooded 
horses  without  pedigrees  for  any  purpose.     There  were 
a  good  many  claims  put  in  for  thorough-blood  in  be- 
half   of   honest    New-England    horses  whose    lineage 
could  be   traced  for  generations  into   and  through  all 
the  barn-yards  of  their  native  districts.     Many  a  strong- 
footed,     stout-limbed,     swinging-gaited,    ample-headed, 
coarse-haired  horse,  going  at  his  track-work  with  the 
determination    of    a  prize-fighter,   and  measuring    his 
strides  with  his  strong  shoulders  and  quarters  as  regu- 
larly as  the  pistons  of  a  locomotive,  was  found  to  be 
descended  from  some  daisy-cutting  son  of  Godolphin, 
brought  over  by  some   unknown   army-officer,  or  sent 
over  to  colonize  a  new  world.     The  valuable  services 
of  a  remarkable  ''  red  "  horse  as  a  stock-getter  in  one 
section  were   elaborately  set  forth.       An  account  was 
given  of  a  "sorrel  horse  with  black  points,"  which  had 
travelled  a  hundred  miles  in  ten  hours,  "  two  men  to 


850  AGRICULTURE  AND   THE  HORSE. 

a  wagon."  And  a  great  deal  was  said  about  a  Per- 
cheron  stallion,  which  weighed  nearly  two  thousand 
pounds,  and  could  trot  a  mile  in  less  than  three 
minutes. 

It  was  during  the  repeated  and  prolonged  sessions 
and  intricate  debates  which  attended  the  early  life  of 
the  New-England  Agricultural  Society  that  an  informal 
assembly  of  its  members  found  itself  brought  together, 
more  by  accident  than  design,  at  the  residence  of  one 
of  the  friends  of  the  association.  There  was  no  special 
arrangement  about  the  proceedings.  Some  one  pres- 
ent, remembering  that  our  old  friend  Mr.  Alcott  never 
opened  one  of  his  charming  mystical  conversations 
without  calling  on  his  audience  to  "come  to  some 
order,"  had  secured  just  organization  enough  to  bring 
the  meeting  to  a  working-capacity.  The  discussion 
was  not  systematic ;  perhaps  not  as  well  defined  and 
well  sustained  as  it  should  have  been.  The  delibera- 
tions were  of  that  fragmentary  description  which  so 
often  follows  long  and  earnest  debate,  and  precedes 
"the  conclusion  of  the  whole  matter."  Every  branch 
of  agricultural  investigation  and  of  an  agricultural  ex- 
hibition had  been  carefully  explored,  when  the  chair- 
man casually  remarked  that  he  thought  the  Horse 
should  receive  the  devoted  attention  of  the  best  men 
of  the  society.  "Our  exhibitions  must  be  made  attrac- 
tive," said  he;  "and  the  profits  to  be  derived  from  a 
judicious  and  intelligent  breeding  of  horses  are  so  great, 
that  we  must  endeavor  to  bring  forward  the  horse  as 


AQlilCULTURE  AND  THE  HORSE.  351 

a  matter  of  business  to  an  agricultural  community,  as 
well  as  of  pleasure  to  the  patrons  of  our  society." 

This  remark,  which  seemed  to  be  innocent  enough, 
and  had,  in  fact,  been  often  made  before  without  at- 
tracting particular  attention,  appeared  to  fall  with  un- 
usual force  upon  the  minds  of  the  little  assembly,  and  to 
displace  the  charming  listlessness  which  pervaded  it 
with  something  slightly  sterner  and  more  thoughtful. 

The  Hon.  Justus  Jones  was  the  first  to  speak.  He 
had  not  taken  an  active  part  in  the  discussions  thus  far, 
but  had  impressed  his  associates  as  a  modest,  moderate 
gentleman,  desirous  of  securing  the  success  of  the  soci- 
ety, and  placing  the  agricultural  interests  on  a  firm  and 
controlling  foundation. 

SPEECH  OF  THE  HOX.  JUSTUS  JONES. 

"Mr.  Chairman,"  said  Mr.  Jones,  half  rising,  and 
then  settling  back  into  his  seat,  as  if  his  audience  was 
too  small  for  an  upright  orator,  —  "Mr.  Chairman,  I  have 
listened  to  the  proposition,  or  rather  the  remark,  which 
you  have  just  made ;  and  I  am  not  prepared  to  say  that 
you  are  not  correct.  But  I  am  not  much  of  a  horseman. 
There  has  been  but  little  love  of  horses  in  my  family. 
We  have  never  owned  a  very  good  horse.  In  fact,  the 
stock  of  my  farm  has  never  been  large  ;  and  I  cannot 
say  that  it  has  been  in  any  way  remarkable.  Large, 
heavy  oxen  are  expensive :  a  small  yoke  answers  every 
purpose.  Medium  animals,  fairish  cows,  oxen  that  do 
not  command  fancy  prices,  are  the  best,  as  we  think, 


352  AGRICULTUTRE  AND  THE  HORSE. 

for  the  general  run  of  farmers.  We  sell  some  hay  and 
some  wood,  and  we  find  small  cattle  and  a  moderate 
horse  are  best  for  this  business :  there  is  less  risk  in 
them ;  and  they  answer  just  as  well.  But  the  risk  of 
the  horse  we  never  run  if  we  can  avoid  it.  For  one, 
I  think  I  am  afraid  of  horses.  I  never  feel  exactly  easy 
about  them.  They  seem  to  be  a  very  uncertain  animal. 
They  see  things ;  they  stumble ;  they  want  a  master. 
They  are  adapted  to  all  bad  occasions ;  are  at  home  in 
a  muster-field  just  as  much  as  in  a  cornfield,  at  a  fight 
as  at  a  church.  The  truth  is,  I  do  not  understand 
horses,  and  want  to  have  nothing  to  do  with  them.  I 
wish  they  did  not  exist.  And  as  to  premiums  for  stal- 
lions and  mares  and  colts,  — why,  I  remember  with  pride 
that  the  old  agricultural  society  to  which  I  belong — one 
of  the  first  in  the  country  —  gave  no  premiums  for  horses 
during  the  first  fifteen  years  of  its  history.  I  have 
been  told  that  there  is  one  now  in  existence  which 
gives  the  smallest  possible  space  for  this  uncertain  and 
unscrupulous  animal.  I  suppose  it  would  not  do  to 
run  a  society  without  them.  But  then,  sir,"  —  and  here 
Mr.  Jones  rose  to  his  feet,  —  '"^  what  repose  would  follow 
their  expulsion  from  the  society  of  those  graver  animals 
which  belong  by  right  to  a  cattle-show  ?  Imagine,  sir, 
a  return  to  those  peaceful  hours  when  horses  were  un- 
known, —  to  the  palmy  days  of  Elisha,  who  was  found 
ploughing,  not  with  horses,  but  with  the  patient  oxen  ; 
to  the  days  of  Job,  who  revelled  in  oxen  and  asses ; 
to  the  times  when  a  horse  was  so  mean  and  unworthy, 


AGRICULTURE  AND   THE  HORSE.  353 

that,  while  man  was  forbidden  to  covet  his  neighbor's 
ox  and  his  ass,  no  such  provision  was  made  with  regard 
to  his  horse.  The  horse,  sir,  has  always  been  a  type 
and  symbol  of  every  thing  proud,  imperial,  and  aggres- 
sive. He  may  submit  to  the  hardships  of  poverty  and 
toil ;  but  he  is  most  at  home  among  the  lordly  and  the 
aristocratic.  Nowhere  in  history,  sacred  or  profane,  is 
he  associated  with  the  gentler  and  more  lowly  qualities 
of  man,  or  devoted  to  the  truly  useful  service  of  life 
alone.  While  all  our  other  domestic  animals  performed 
their  part  in  the  daily  labor  of  society,  and  either  bore 
the  priest  to  the  temple,  or  were  found  worthy  of 
being  offered  up  a  sacrifice  on  the  altar,  the  horse  had 
his  '  neck  clothed  with  thunder ; '  he  smelled  '  the  bat- 
tle afar  off;  '  his  joy  was  in  '  the  thunder  of  the  cap- 
tains, and  the  shouting.'  Never  under  any  Christian 
interpretation  has  he  found  his  way  into  the  best  of 
creation  ;  but  through  the  Oriental  imagery  of  the  Mus- 
sulman alone,  responsive  to  the  pseudo  -  divinity  of 
Mohammed,  has  he  been  elevated  to  his  lofty  position, 
pretender  that  he  is,  among  the  beasts  of  the  earth. 

''  It  was  an  Arab  chieftain,  swelling  with  Mahometan 
arrogance,  bloated  with  Mahometan  superstitions,  gritty 
with  the  sands  of  the  desert,  who  set  God  to  work 
making  a  horse  out  of  the  south  wind,  and  binding 
*  fortune  on  his  mane,'  and  reposing  'riches  in  his 
loins,'  and  making  him  with  the  'sign  of  glory  and 
of  happiness,'  and  then  declaring  to  the  misguided 
Adam,  who  chose  this  tempestuous  creature  in  prefer- 

23 


354  AGRICULTURE  AND   THE   HORSE. 

ence  to  the  'borak,'  'Thou  hast  chosen  thy  glory  and 
the  glory  of  thy  sons:  while  they  exist,  my  blessing 
shall  be  with  them,  because  I  have  not  created  any 
thing  that  can  be  more  dear  to  me  than  man  and 
the  horse.'  This  may  be  all  very  well,  sir,  for  an  Arab, 
but  not  for  a  descendant  of  the  Pilgrims ;  not  for  a  man 
who  believes  in  a  republic  of  humanity  and  religion 
and  letters.  To  the  warrior  and  the  usurper  and  the 
nomad  I  resign  the  horse,  with  all  his  thunders,  and 
his  '  Ha,  ha's !  '  and  his  wild  and  mysterious  spirit.  I 
suppose  we  must  endure  him  ;  but  I  protest  against 
him.  I  have  no  doubt  he  will  be  present  at  our 
exhibition  in  full  force.  I  have  no  doubt,  that, 
when  he  gets  there,  he  will  parade  himself  up  and 
down  before  the  multitude,  and  swell  out  beneath 
their  empty  plaudits,  and  persuade  himself  that  he 
is  really  held  in  higher  esteem  than  those  more  sub- 
stantial and  useful  animals,  without  which  man  would 
starve  and  perish.  I  have  witnessed  just  such  vanity 
as  this,  sir,  in  another  sphere;  and  I  know  how,  for 
a  season,  it  will  flourish.  I  submit,  therefore,  ay, 
more  than  that,  I  rejoice,  that  while  the  calm  and 
substantial  and  solid  and  real  in  the  animal  kingdom 
are  provided  for  those  of  us  who  look  beneath  the 
surface,  and  estimate  all  things  at  their  true  value, 
the  fleeting  and  flashy  splendors  of  the  passing  cloud 
are  bestowed  upon  the  fickle  and  impressible  and 
volatile.  Let  us  have  the  horse,  then,  if  we  must; 
and  let  him  serve  to  attract  the  crowd  for  the  pecuniary 


AGRICULTURE  AND   THE   HORSE.  355 

benefit  of  ourselves  who  are  engaged  in  this  great 
work.  As  an  instrument  in  the  hands  of  Providence, 
which  ^maketh  even  the  wrath  of  man  to  praise  him,'  I 
accept  the  evil.  But,  for  myself,  I  shall  devote  my  best 
faculties  to  the  development  of  the  sturdier  and  more 
reliable  branches  of  our  business,  —  to  those  dumb 
friends  of  ours  who  neither  startle  us  by  their  eccentric 
impulses,  nor  betray  us  by  their  innate  follies,  nor  drag 
us  to  destruction  by  their  uncontrolled  and  uncontrolla- 
ble ambition,  fatal  alike  to  friend  and  foe,  but  who  nour- 
ish us  from  the  cradle  to  the  grave,  who  are  associated 
with  our  most  peaceful  hours,  who  disturb  not  our 
mental  and  moral  repose,  who  neither  flatter  our  vanity 
nor  inflate  our  desires,  whose  massive  and  imposing 
usefulness  will  always  be  remembered  by  the  hungry 
and  the  thirsty,  whose  simple  and  insensible  stolidity 
will  be  valued  above  more  glittering  qualities,  and 
whose  immortal  torpor  will  endure 

'  When  victors'  wreaths  and  monarchs'  gems 
Shall  blend  in  common  dust.' 

"Mr.  Chairman,  I  am  but  a  common  farmer.  It  is 
true,  a  portion  of  my  time  is  devoted  to  the  public 
service,  to  the  advantage  of  the  State,  I  trust,  as  well 
as  of  myself  But  I  am  a  farmer,  believing  in  the 
good  old  ways  of  the  fathers,  whose  exhausted  farms 
we  of  this  generation  inherit.  I  believe  in  that  mode 
of  farming,  as  I  do  in  that  mode  of  railroading,  which 
will  give  the  largest  returns  with  the  least  labor,  the 


356  AGRICtJLTURE   AND   THE   HORSE. 

simplest  processes,  and  the  smallest  risks.  I  suppose 
I  may  be  called  conservative ;  and  I  must  confess  I 
dislike  every  thing  which  is  capable  of  running  away. 
I  acquiesce  in  a  gale  of  wind;  but  I  dislike  it.  So 
I  acquiesce  in  the  horse ;  but  I  don't  like  him.  I 
have  said  more  than  I  meant  to  say  when  I  com- 
menced ;  perhaps  more  than  I  ought  to  have  said. 
But  public  service,  you  know,  Mr.  Chairman,  tends 
to  develop  the  powers  of  expression,  and  to  enlarge 
those  intellectual  faculties  without  which  this  world 
would  indeed  be  but  a  'fleeting  show.'  I  beg  pardon 
of  the  gentlemen  present  for  my  extended  remarks ; 
but  I  feel  that  I  have  but  half  discharged  my  duty, 
and  have  said  less  than  half  of  what  I  desired  to  say. 
I  hope  I  have  not  injured  the  horse,  or  discouraged 
the  society.  My  disposition  is  'to  hold  to  the  one, 
and  despise  the  other.'  I  shall  acquiesce,  however; 
and  I  trust  and  pray  that  our  Troy  (excuse  the  clas- 
sical allusion)  may  not  fall  as  fell  the  ancient  city, 
when  that  animal  which  I  dread  so  much  passed 
through  its  ill-starred  gates." 

Mr.  Jones  sat  down  somewhat  flushed,  a  little  per- 
plexed, and  with  an  expression  of  mingled  self-approval, 
defiance,  and  injured  innocence,  which  was  not  pleasant 
to  such  a  healthy  assembly  as  he  had  just  addressed. 
Everybody  was  silent.  They  had  no  idea  Mr.  Jones 
was  so  eloquent  a  gentleman:  they  had  forgotten  his 
"Dublic  service.^'      They  did  not  agree  with  him;   but 


AGRICULTURE  AND  THE  HORSE.  357 

they  did   not  know  exactly  what   to   say.     It  was  a 
new  view  of  the  horse  question.     And  they  were  some- 
what stunned  by  the  thought  that  they  ought  to  return 
to  the  days  when  sheep  and  oxen  and  asses  occupied 
the  largest  attention;    when  the  merits  of  cows  went 
unrecorded,  the  bull  was  generally  ignored,  swine  were 
forbidden,  and  the  horse  was  consigned  to  a  vain  and 
wicked  world  for  the  gratification  of  vanity  and  wick- 
edness alone.     It  is  doubtful  whether  any  reply  would 
have  been  made  to  Mr.  Jones,  except  a  mild  expos- 
tulation from  the  Chaii',  and  a  murmur  in  one  corner 
of  the  room  about  "a  white  mare,"  and  "my  little  girl's 
pony,"  which  had  a  very  warm  and  tender  tone  in  it, 
had  not  Mr.  John  Osgood  been  present,  and  felt  moved 
to  take  up  the  matter  where  Mr.  Jones  laid  it  down. 

Mr.  Osgood  was  a  fine  specimen  of  a  New-England 
farmer.     His  ancestors  had  been  landholders  for  gene- 
rations back.     They  were  men  of  influence  too.     One 
of  them  was  the  first  postmaster-general  under  Wash- 
ington ;    another  had  held  high  position  in  one  of  the 
oldest  and  strongest  towns  in  Massachusetts;    another 
had  filled  to  overflowing  one  of  the  most  powerful  of 
the  old  New-England  pulpits ;  another  was  the  trusted 
friend  of  the  first  great  chief  justice  of  Massachusetts ; 
and  another  was  a  great  farmer,   owned  broad  lands, 
and  was  famous  for  his   flocks   and  herds   and   crops, 
as  well  as  for  his  stables.     Mr.   Osgood  himself,  it  was 
said,  started  from  the  smallest  possible  beginning.     His 
only  patrimony  was  the  inheritance  of  blood  to  which 


358  AGRICULTURE  AND  THE  HORSE. 

I  have  alluded,  a  thoroughly  good  academical  educa- 
tion, a  stalwart  frame,  a  sound  mind  in  a  sound  body, 
and  a  fresh  and  vigorous  spirit,  which  led  him  along 
the  agricultural  path  of  his  ancestors,  rather  than  along 
their  commercial  or  political  or  legal  or  theological 
highways.  Why  his  father  was  poor,  belonging  as  he  did 
to  such  a  thrifty  race,  nobody  seemed  to  know.  There 
will  be  such  in  every  family.  He  owned  a  farm  some- 
where, —  an  unrecorded  farm,  which  no  committee  on 
farms  had  ever  visited,  and  which  had  faded  and  faded 
under  the  touch  of  negligent  cultivation,  until  every 
thing  about  it  —  people,  buildings,  animals,  and  crops 
—  had  a  languid  and  sickly  air.  This  farm  Mr.  Osgood 
left  in  early  life ;  and  we  are  told  that  he  left  it  in  early 
spring,  on  foot,  driving  his  few  sheep  and  a  cow  or  two 
before  him  over  the  deep  and  heavy  roads  of  that  season, 
travelling  with  less  fiitigue  than  his  animals,  and  stop- 
ping at  last  for  his  future  home  in  one  of  the  remote, 
verdant  valleys  of  Vermont.  In  this  home  he  had 
prospered.  By  the  exercise  of  good  judgment  in  the 
breeding  of  his  flocks,  and  by  the  application  of  rules 
which  keen  observation  taught  him,  in  the  absence  of 
scientific  laws,  he  improved  the  quality  of  his  sheep, 
until  they  became  the  standard,  and  gave  him  a  reputa- 
tion with  the  Bakewells  and  Collings  of  the  Old  World. 
His  cattle  ranked  with  the  best ;  and,  in  his  mind,  the 
best  were  models  of  symmetry,  thrift,  and  quality.  The 
highest  type  of  the  American  horse  could  be  found  on 
his  farm, — an  animal  as  patient  as  he  was  courageous. 


AGRICULTURE   AND   THE   HORSE.  359 

as  enduring  as  he  was  fleet,  as  useful  as  he  was  orna- 
mental, strong  at  the  plough  and  untiring  on  the  road, 
vigorous,  hardy,  and  cheerful,  an  honor  to  his  race,  and 
a  credit  to  his  owner.  Mr.  Osgood's  acres  and  his 
household  increased  together.  His  family  smiled  all 
around  him  within  doors,  and  his  farm  smiled  all  around 
him  without.  His  wife  —  a  comely,  industrious,  intelli- 
gent, sweet-voiced  woman  ;  such  a  wife  as  can  only  be 
developed  under  the  sunlight  of  a  manly  and  kind  and 
considerate  and  generous  husband  ;  such  a  wife  as 
only  such  a  husband  can  have  in  all  her  attributes,  the 
mother  of  many  sons  and  daughters — kept  his  house- 
hold in  neatness  and  good  order,  and  cherished  within 
that  home  all  the  virtues  and  economies  which  make 
home  sweet  and  dignified.  He  had  no  political  am- 
bition, had  never  been  engaged  in  "public  service," 
had  no  "honorable "  prefixed  to  his  name  ;  but  he  went 
to  church,  sent  his  children  to  the  best  schools,  paid 
his  taxes  without  complaining,  and  had  offered  up  one 
of  the  best  and  bravest  of  his  boys  on  the  altar  of  his 
country, — a  far-off,  unknown  grave  holding  the  sacred 
ashes,  while  the  father  and  mother  carried  calmly  and 
patiently  the  great  sorrow  in  their  hearts. 

When  Mr.  Jones  had  seated  himself,  after  his  star- 
tling address,  Mr.  Osgood,  who,  having  been  prosperous 
himself,  felt  moved  to  tell  others  how  it  was  done,  and 
had,  for  this  reason,  joined  the  society,  looked  about 
upon  the  little  assembly,  hoping  that  some  one  else 
might  say  what  he  himself  felt  constrained  to  utter  upon 


360  AGRICULTURE  AND  THE  HORSE. 

the  subject  before  them.  But  no  one  moved;  and  at  last 
he  arose,  and  brought  his  solid  and  healthy  form,  and 
manly  countenance,  and  rich,  deep  voice,  with  which 
he  had  been  wont  to  inspire  with  their  utmost  strength 
his  laboring  animals,  to  bear  upon  what  was  to  him  a 
familiar  and  favorite  topic.  He  spoke  substantially  as 
follows :  — 

MR.  JOHN  Osgood's  speech. 

(Revised  and  torltten  out  by  the  Chairman.) 

Mr.  Chairman^  —  I  did  not  suppose,  when  I  entered 
this  room,  that  we  should  be  called  upon  to  express 
our  opinions  on  any  matter  touching  the  welfare  of  the 
Agricultural  Society  just  now  formed,  or  upon  any 
special  object  connected  with  that  society.  I  came 
here  to  rest  and  chat,  and  look  around,  and  become 
intimate  with  my  associates.  I  never  like  to  unite  with 
any  man  in  a  common  enterprise  until  I  know  him ; 
and  I  never  can  know  a  man  until  we  have  both  laid 
aside  the  restraint  of  business,  and  sat  down  in  our 
moral  and  intellectual  shirt-sleeves  to  see  and  be  seen, 
to  hear  and  be  heard,  just  as  we  are.  If  there  is  a  mean 
or  a  soft  spot  in  a  man,  you  may  be  sure  it  will  come 
out  when  he  has  nothing  special  to  do,  and  nothing 
special  to  say,  and  no  reason  to  be  on  his  guard.  If  you 
want  to  find  out  whether  a  horse  is  unsound,  let  him 
alone. 

But  we  have  gone  beyond  the  pleasure  and  the  ob- 
servation of  private  intercourse,  and  have  been  led  by 


AGRICULTURE  AND   THE   HORSE.  361 

my  new  friend  here  into  a  public  discussion.     He  has 
given  us  his  opinion  of  the  horse,  —  a  novel  opinion  to 
me  ;    although    I    think   I    can   now  see  that   he  has 
expressed    fears    and    dislikes    and   misunderstandings 
which  have  been  felt  and  entertained  by  many  whom 
I  have  known,   and  who  were   not   honest  enough  to 
utter  them.     Be  that  as  it  may,  I  think  a  great  deal 
better  of  a  horse  than  Mr.  Jones  does ;  and  I  will  give 
him  and   you    the    reasons.     To  my  mind,   then,  Mr. 
Chairman,  the  relations  which  exist  between  man  and 
the  horse  are  of  such  an  intimate  and  significant  char- 
acter, that  they  cannot  be  destroyed  or  violated  without 
producing  an  effect  deeper  than  that  produced  by  the 
simple  loss  of  property.     Somehow  the  horse  has  man- 
aged to  connect  himself  with  so  much  that  is  interest- 
ing and  valuable  in  life,  that  we  cannot  abuse  or  insult 
him  without  wounding    our  self-respect  ;    we    cannot 
destroy    him    without    serious    loss.      He    occupies    a 
strange  and  important  place  in  our  history.     In  great 
military  expeditions  he  has  always  performed  an  im- 
portant part.     Old  warriors   used  him.     Old   scholars 
wrote    about    him.     Although  my  friend  finds    more 
ecclesiastical  authority  for  respecting  the  ox  and  the 
ass,  I  would  remind  him  that  Jacob  commenced  early 
trading  corn  for  horses  with  the  Egyptians,  and  that 
a   long   array   of    chariots    and   horses    followed   this 
patriarch  in  funeral-procession.     He  was  an  Egyptian 
animal  at  a  time  when  Egyptian  civilization  outshone 
all  others  ;    and  I  am  of  opinion,  with  all  due  defer- 


362  AGRICULTURE  AND   THE  HORSE. 

ence  to  those  who  differ  from  me,  that  he  has  found 
his  most  congenial  companions  where  cultivation  and 
refinement  have  prevailed,  from  the  days  of  Pha- 
raoh until  now.  As  the  arts  of  life  advance,  how 
he  goes  with  them  !  I  find  him  in  Arabia,  the  ally 
and  protector  and  companion  of  man,  his  best  posses- 
sion there.  I  find  him  immortalized  in  the  finest 
marbles  of  ancient  Greece  and  Rome.  I  find  his  name 
connected  with  great  human  exploits.  I  find  pages  in 
history  dedicated  to  the  record  of  his  wonderful  deeds 
on  the  turf  and  the  road,  at  labor,  in  the  chase,  and  on 
the  field  of  battle.  Kings  have  devoted  the  royal 
treasury  to  his  increase,  improvement,  and  comfort ; 
and  ambitious  and  enthusiastic  agriculturists  have  ap- 
plied themselves  unsparingly  to  his  introduction  into 
the  best  regions  and  systems  of  farming.  Why,  what  a 
flood  of  charming  associations  and  memories  rushes 
around  us  as  we  recall  the  position  which  the  horse 
has  held  for  almost  all  time !  William  the  Conqueror 
and  his  Norman  horses,  King  John  and  his  Flemish 
stallions,  the  admiring  crowds  that  gathered  round  the 
Darley  and  the  Godolphin  Arabian,  the  enthusiastic 
admirers  of  Sir  Archy  and  Sir  Charles,  of  Lexington 
and  Boston,  of  old  Eclipse,  the  studs  of  Washington, 
the  thorough  breds  of  Jefferson,  — it  is  not  worth  while 
to  tell  me  that  there  is  nothing  more  in  all  this  than  the 
simple  ownership  of  so  many  merchantable  animals,  to 
be  valued  by  weight  in  the  market.  In  great  events 
of  joy  and  sorrow,  in  crises  and  revolutions,  the  horse 


AGRICULTURE  AND   THE  HOESE.  363 

somehow  finds  his  place,  standing  next  to  man,  the 
partner  of  his  fortunes  and  his  fate,  and  performing  an 
important  part  in  all  the  drama.  I  have  been  so  struck 
with  the  place  assigned  the  horse  in  all  the  stirring  in- 
cidents of  chivalrous  personal  history,  that  I  remember 
always  the  touching  lines,  which,  in  the  Introduction  to 
the  Betrothed,  tell  the  vision  w^hich  descended  on  the 
*'  Noble  Maringer :  "  — 

"  Thy  tower  another  banner  knew,  thy  steed  another  rein ; 
And  stoop  them  to  another's  will  thy  gallant  vassal  train  ; 
And  she,  the  lady  of  thy  love,  so  faithful  once  and  fair, 
This  night,  without  thy  father's  hall,  she  weds  Marstettin's  heir." 

Towers,  horse,  vassals,  and  lady-love,  all  join  to  make 
this  significant  picture.  Tell  me  what  other  animal 
could  perform  his  part  there.  But  not  in  deeds  of 
war  and  chivalry  alone  has  the  horse  endeared  himself 
to  man.  I  have  said  he  seems  to  belong  by  right  to  the 
highest  civilization,  and  to  find  there  his  most  favoring 
and  congenial  home.  Not,  however,  to  this  sphere  alone 
is  his  genius  confined.  Obedient  to  surrounding  cir- 
cumstances as  no  other  animal  seems  capable  of  being, 
his  frame  and  temperament  alike  conform  to  the  neces- 
sities which  he  meets.  The  pride  of  the  race-course,  to 
which  he  is  led  often  when  he  is  but  two  years  old, 
prematurely  developed  by  protection  and  care  into  all 
the  nerve  and  vigor  of  mature  life,  restless,  impatient, 
and  beautiful,  he  finds  an  elephantine,  stolid,  patient 
brother  leaving  the  pastures  of  Holland  and  the  Clyde 


364  AGRICUIiTHRE  AND  THE  HORSE. 

for  the  weary  toil  of  the  brewery  and  the  coal-yard; 
he  finds  a  hardy,  diminutive,  busy,  cool,  and  sagacious 
member  of  his  family  browsing  on  the  moss  and  ferns 
of  the  Orkneys ;  he  hails  from  the  desert  the  lithe  and 
sinewy  form  of  a  more  immediate  relative ;  he  looks 
on  with  amazement  as  his  self-poised  American  cousin 
whirls  along  the  road  with  that  tremendous  stride 
which  has  been  developed  by  the  wants  of  a  free  and 
driving  people,  each  one  of  whom  is  bound  to  reach 
his  destination  first ;  and  he  is  amazed  to  find  a  rough 
and  wiry  specimen  of  his  race  scouring  the  plains  in 
all  the  vigor  of  savage  life.  Preserving  his  horse  char- 
acteristics under  all  circumstances,  and  in  whatever 
form  he  may  appear,  he  gradually  adapts  himself  to 
soil  and  climate  with  a  readiness  unknown  to  any  other 
animal  but  man.  And  more  than  this :  on  the  battle- 
field he  is  a  war-horse ;  on  the  race-course  he  is  a  deer ; 
on  the  farm  he  is  a  drudge ;  on  the  road  he  is  a  locomo- 
tive ;  at  the  civic  procession  he  is  as  airy  as  his  rider ; 
as  a  hack  he  is  sagacious  in  the  use  of  his  forces ;  at 
the  stage-coach  he  is  "flying  all  abroad;"  at  the  pri- 
vate carriage  he  is  as  proud  and  disdainful  as  the 
petted  beauty  who  sits  behind  him ;  at  the  funeral  he 
is  as  melancholy  as  the  mourners. 

Now,  sir,  do  you  wonder  that  I  admire  an  animal 
whose  status  and  genius  I  have  just  described  as  I 
understand  them  ?  I  do  not  object  to  other  animals : 
I  respect  them  as  I  do  the  trees  planted  by  my  fathers, 
and  the  mill-ponds  which  they  dammed  "  for  the  public 


AGRICULTURE  AND  THE  HORSE.  365 

good."     But  I  study  my  horse ;    and  my  horse  studies 
me.     If  I  am  a  coward,  he  is  one ;  if  I  am  lazy,  he  is 
lazy ;    if  I   am   impatient,    he   is   impetuous ;    if  I  am 
lost   in    thought,   how  dreamily  he    pursues   his  way! 
But  a  cat  is  a  cat  the  world  over,  let  the  mistress  be 
what  she  may.     A  dog  is  a  dog,  in  season  and  out  of 
season,  whether  he  follows  beggar  or  prince.     A  sheep 
is  a  sheep ;  and  no  circumstances  can  modify  its  sheep- 
ishness.     A  cow  is  a  cow,  no  matter  where  the  pasture, 
or   who    the   milkmaid,  —  the   same   senseless,    board- 
faced,   "panicky"  beast,  the   same    indolent   machine, 
the    same    placid    lump    of    awkwardness,    the    same 
matter-of-fact    agricultural    fixture.      Hence    I    have 
always  imagined  I  could  read  in  the    conduct   of  the 
horse  a  certain  measure  of  the  character  of  the  ov^ner, 
as  you  can  see  the  man  in  the  empty  hat  which  sits 
upon  the  table,  you  cannot   tell   why.     When    I   was 
a  boy,  I  used  to  estimate  the  condition  of  my  neigh- 
bors by  the  looks  and  conduct  of  their  horses.     When 
I  saw   a  venerable   pair   seated   in   a  rickety  wagon 
drawn  by  a  low-headed,   ewe-necked,  ring-boned  mare, 
by  jerks  along  the  road,  I  always  pictured  to  myself  the 
establishment  from  which  that  venerable  pair  came  out. 
When   I   saw  the  village    doctor  jogging   about  with 
rusty  harness,  and  dilapidated  vehicle,  and  melancholy 
horse,  I  drew  my  own  inference,  and  instituted  a  com- 
parison at  once  between  this  man  and  his  rival,  who, 
without    ostentation,  kept   his    equipage  in  order,  and 
drove  well  the  horse  which  he  had  selected  well.    Upon 


366  AGRICULTURE  AND   THE  HORSE. 

the  box  of  a  market- wagon,  drawn  by  a  well-matched, 
even-working  pair  of  solid  bays,  I  always  found  seated 
a  contented  and  thriving  farmer.  The  minister  of  my 
native  town,  a  large-hearted,  kindly,  sympathizing 
pastor,  and  a  sensible  preacher  of  the  gospel  of  Christ, 
always  drove  an  elegant  horse,  and  drove  him  well ;  so 
that  in  his  two-wheeled  chaise  at  least,  or  when 
mounted  erect  in  the  saddle,  the  people  respected  him, 
and  did  not  forget  their  respect  when  he  had  dis- 
mounted. And  never  shall  I  forget  the  chagrin  and 
dismay,  and  "  dismal  doubts,"  which  filled  my  mind  as 
I  found  myself  and  my  beloved  Jerusha,  now  my  wife, 
seated  in  her  father's  ancient  chaise,  behind  her  father's 
ancient  steed  (both  borrowed  by  me  for  the  occasion), 
and  subjected  to  the  sly  jibes  of  the  smart  young 
people  who  drove  their  smart  equipages  on  that 
memorable  drive  to  the  seaside.  I  pitied  Jerusha; 
and  Jerusha  pitied  me.  But,  fortunately  for  us  both, 
that  horse  was  the  only  fault  she  or  her  flimily  had. 
Excuse  me,  sir :  but  I  cannot  forget  those  days ;  and, 
when  I  am  away  from  my  wife  and  children,  they  will 
constantly  be  uppermost  in  my  mind. 

Now,  sir,  when  I  commenced  farming,  I  made  up  my 
mind  that  my  horses  should  be  as  good  as  my  sheep 
and  cattle  ;  that  none  of  them  should  be  surpassed ; 
and  that  I  would  find  out  a  way  to  breed  and  rear  my 
own,  instead  of  going  into  the  market  to  purchase  the 
fruits  of  other  people's  industry.  I  knew  very  well 
what  I  wanted.     I  did  not  want  a  running-horse,  nor 


AGKICULTURE  AND   THE   HORSE.  367 

a  saddle-horse,  nor  a  cart-horse.  I  wanted  a  horse  of 
all  work,  —  a  horse  weighing  a  little  more  than  ten 
hundred  pounds,  in  good  road  condition ;  fifteen  hands 
and  one  inch  high  (for  I  had  found  that  this  height 
and  weight  usually  go  together)  ;  with  a  head  not  too 
fine,  wide  between  the  eyes,  and  high  above  them ; 
with  a  good-sized,  steady,  erect,  and  lively  ear  ;  with 
every  bony  process  sharp  and  prominent,  —  even  the 
processes  of  the  first  cervical  vertebra  behind  the  ears ; 
with  a  calm  and  well-set  eye,  and  lips  which  indicate 
determination  rather  than  delicacy ;  a  Webster ian  head, 
with  a  neck  well  muscled,  well  arched,  strong,  and  elas- 
tic ;  with  active  motion,  and  a  throttle  loose  and  open ; 
with  withers  not  sharp  and  thin,  but  solid  and  strong  ; 
with  a  shoulder  set  loosely  on,  broad  and  deep  at  the 
base ;  with  a  strong  arm,  sinewy  leg,  short  canon- 
bone,  firm  and  not  too  long  or  elastic  a  pastern,  and  a 
firm  foot ;  with  a  deep  chest,  without  a  prominent  and 
bulging  breast-bone  ;  with  a  round  barrel,  ribbed  well 
back  towards  the  hips,  but  not  so  far  back  as  to  inter- 
fere with  the  action  of  the  hind-quarters ;  with  a  short 
back,  and  a  slight  elevation  of  the  rump  just  behind 
the  coupling ;  with  a  long  and  strong  quarter  well 
muscled  inside  and  outside  ;  with  a  hind-leg  so  set  on 
that  the  action  shall  be  free  and  open,  and  with  the 
fore-leg  so  set  on  that  the  toes  shall  not  turn  out  for 
fear  of  brushing  the  knees  at  speed,  and  that  they  shall 
not  turn  in  too  much  for  fear  of  paddling.  I  wanted 
a  good  strong  bay  color  with  black  points,  and  a  tem- 


368  AGRICULTURE  AND  THE  HORSE. 

perament  calm,  collected,  fearless,  defiant,  and  a  brain 
quick  to  learn,  and  strong  to  remember.  This  was  the 
horse  I  wanted ;  and  I  felt  sure  I  could  breed  him. 

This  horse,  and  the  way  in  which  he  is  to  be  obtained, 
has  been  so  well  described  elsewhere  (and  I  think,  Mr. 
Chairman,  you  will  recognize  the  description),  that  I 
venture  to  quote  the  passage  from  memory ;  and  I  have 
read  it  so  often,  that  I  think  my  memory  cannot  fail  to 
recall  it :  — 

"  The  American  trotting-horse  "  —  and  this  means  the 
American  horse  of  all  work  —  "is  an  animal  after  his 
own  kind,  and,  I  venture  to  say,  unequalled  by  any 
other  horse  on  the  face  of  the  earth  in  all  that  makes 
such  an  animal  truly  valuable  in  every  kind  of  service. 
It  takes  true  equine  genius  to  make  a  trotting-horse. 
His  mechanism  must  be  as  well  balanced  and  sym- 
metrical as  a  locomotive.  Propelled  as  he  is  by  one 
quarter  at  a  time,  his  progress  is  the  result  of  nerve  and 
strength  and  decision,  unknown  and  utterly  ignored  in 
that  leaping,  bounding  motion,  where  one  end  follows 
the  other,  as  is  the  case  with  the  running-horse  of 
the  English  turf  He  must  be  solid  in  his  foot, 
strong  in  his  limb,  firm  in  his  back,  free  and  easy 
in  his  stride,  and,  above  all  things,  calm  and  collected 
amidst  all  the  trials  of  the  track  and  the  road, 
which  tend  to  throw  him  off  his  balance,  and  reduce 
him  to  the  level  of  the  hare  and  the  fox  and  the 
greyhound,  and  the  English  race-horse,  running  helter- 
skelter   in  a  natural  manner,  without  the  exercise  of 


AGRICULTURE  AND  THE  HORSE.  369 

any  faculties  except  those  with  which  Nature  endows 
the  coward  when  he  flies  from  danger  or  conflict. 
The  American  trotter  requires  bones  and  muscles  and 
brains ;  and,  when  he  stands  high  on  the  list,  he  has 
them  all.  For  compactness  of  form  and  ease  of  motion, 
for  strength,  endurance,  and  sagacity,  he  is  unequalled. 
*'  The  beautiful  description  which  Yirgil  gives  of  a 
good  steed  in  his  day  is  just  as  true  in  our  own :  — 

*  Choose  with  like  care  the  courser's  generous  breed, 
And  from  his  birth  prepare  the  parent  steed. 
His  color  mark  :  select  the  glossy  bay ; 
And  to  the  white  or  dun  prefer  the  gray. 
As  yet  a  colt,  he  stalks  with  lofty  pace, 
And  balances  his  limbs  with  flexile  grace  ; 
First  leads  the  way,  the  threatening  torrent  braves, 
And  dares  the  unknown  arch  that  spans  the  waves. 
Light  on  his  airy  crest  his  slender  head ; 
His  body  short ;  his  loins  luxuriant  spread  ; 
Muscle  on  muscle  knots  his  brawny  breast. 
No  fear  alarms  him,  nor  vain  shouts  molest. 
O'er  his  right  shoulder,  floating  full  and  fair, 
Sweeps  his  thick  mane,  and  spreads  its  pomp  of  hair : 
Swift  works  his  double  spine ;  and  earth  around 
Rings  to  his  solid  hoof  that  wears  the  ground.* 

Now,  we  have  this  animal  as  the  natural  product  of 
our  farms.  I  know  not  how  it  has  come  to  pass,  but 
it  is  a  fact,  that  the  farmer's  horse  in  New  England  is 
peculiar  to  himself,  and  is,  moreover,  peculiarly  an 
American  institution.  He  may  be  descended  from  the 
thorough-bred,  for  any  thing  that  can  be  said  to  the 
contrary ;   but,  the   farther  he   is   removed  from   that 

24 


370  AGRICULTURE  AND   THE  HORSE. 

rather  equivocal  class  of  animals,  the  more  truly  does 
he  become  a  trotter.  I  look  upon  him  as  one  result  of 
that  social  and  civil  equality,  which,  in  our  own  country, 
makes  one  man's  time  as  valuable  as  another's,  and 
which  authorizes  the  farmer's  boy  to  take  the  road  from 
the  squire,  or  the  parson,  or  the  doctor,  whenever  his 
colt  can  do  it.  Every  man  in  this  country  who  can  keep 
a  horse  wants  a  good  one ;  and,  when  he  has  got  him,  he 
wants  to  avail  himself  of  his  horse's  powers  to  make 
the  distance  between  the  mill  or  the  meeting-house  and 
his  own  home  as  short  as  possible.  We  all  drive  on 
the  road;  and  this,  combined,  undoubtedly,  with  cer- 
tain fortunate  aptitudes  of  climate  and  soil,  has  given 
New  England  her  valuable  races  of  trotters. 

"Why  should  we  go  abroad,  then,  with  the  expecta- 
tion of  improving  what  we  now  have?  While  we 
have  our  Messengers  and  Black  Hawks,  and  other 
families  of  Morgans,  so  diverse  in  size  and  shape,  so 
well  fitted  by  form  and  temper  to  every  labor,  and  yet 
possessing  a  kind  of  prevailing  uniformity,  expressed 
by  the  phrase  '  a  horse  of  all  work,'  can  we  hope  to 
derive  any  benefit  from  a  resort  to  those  specific  breeds 
of  horses  which  in  England  are  devoted  each  to  its 
OAvn  specialty  ?  There  is  no  necessity,  for  instance, 
for  importing  a  Suffolk  Punch  ;  for  half  a  day's  search 
would  undoubtedly  provide  you  with  just  such  an  ani- 
mal raised  on  your  own  soil.  We  need  not  import 
hunters ;  for  we  have  no  need  of  any  such  horse 
among  us.     The  Cleveland  Bay,  valuable  as  a  carriage- 


AGRICULTUKE  AND  THE  HORSE.  371 

horse,  could  hardly  expect  to  improve  the  stylish 
breeds  found  South  and  West,  and  distinguished  more 
for  style  than  any  thing  else.  And  when  Ave  consider 
that  it  is  only  after  we  have  reached  many  removes  from 
the  thorough-bred  that  we  have  arrived  at  good  trot- 
ters ;  when  we  remember  that  neither  in  shoulder,  nor 
leg,  nor  quarter,  nor  general  mechanism,  is  there  any 
analogy  between  the  thorough-bred  as  raised  in  Eng- 
land and  the  trotter  as  raised  in  our  own  country,  —  we 
may  well  ask  ourselves,  What  advantage  is  to  be  de- 
rived from  the  introduction  of  such  animals  among  us  ? 

*'  It  is  because  we  have  already  what  we  want  in  the 
way  of  horses  that  I  am  opposed  to  the  introduction 
of  foreign  breeds  among  them.  Our  customs  and 
modes  of  life,  together  with,  perhaps,  a  fortunate  outset 
and  certain  natural  advantages,  have  produced  for  us 
better  horses  than  we  can  import.  If  this  were  the  case 
with  regard  to  our  cattle,  I  should  entertain  the  same 
opinion  with  regard  to  them ;  but  it  is  not  so.  We 
have,  partly  by  accident  and  partly  by  design,  been 
engaged  for  years  in  developing  a  race  of  trotting- 
horses;  but  we  have  not  developed  races  of  cattle 
peculiarly  adapted  to  the  dairy  or  the  shambles.  That 
work  is  still  before  us  ;  and  we  can  only  accomplish  it 
by  obtaining  such  animals,  wherever  they  can  be  found, 
until  we  have  established  the  breeds  for  ourselves." 

Perhaps,  Mr.  Chairman,  I  might  slightly  qualify  some 
of  the  opinions  I  have  just  quoted ;  but  they  are,  in 
the  main,  correct.     I  recognize  the  value  of  those  old 


372  AGRICULTUKE  AND   THE  HORSE. 

progenitors  who  brought  into  our  country,  many  years 
ago,  the  bone  and  muscle  and  nerve  and  wind  and 
capacity  of  the  Enghsh  thorough-bred  of  that  day. 
I  am  mindful  of  the  old  Messenger,  and  of  what  he 
and  his  sons  have  done ;  and  I  cannot,  moreover, 
forget  that  his  fame  as  the  ancestor  of  trotters  was 
established,  not  in  Bucks  County,  Pennsylvania,  where 
he  stood  two  seasons  after  his  arrival  in  this  country 
(in  1780),  but  on  Long  Island,  and  various  other  points 
in  New- York  State,  whence  his  stock  was  distributed 
throughout  the  best  breeding-sections  of  New  England. 
As  the  sire  of  Miller's  Damsel  (the  dam  of  American 
Eclipse)  and  of  Sir  Harry,  out  of  mares  of  undoubted 
pedigree,  he  won  a  line  reputation ;  but  it  was  as  the 
sire  of  Mambrino  —  whose  dam  had  no  pedigree,  ex- 
cept that  she  was  "  by  Imp.  Sour-krout,"  and  of  Ham- 
bletonian,  whose  dam  was  by  Messenger  himself,  but 
whose  grand-dam  was  "  unknown  "  —  that  he  won  his 
distinction  as  the  ancestor  of  some  of  the  most  re- 
markable trotters  known  on  earth.  And  how,  as  gen- 
erations went  on,  and  that  "  unknown  "  blood  worked 
in,  did  the  speed  of  this  family  increase !  From  Mam- 
brino sprang  Abdallah,  dam  Amazonia  (by  Messenger, 
dam  unknown),  and  Mambrino  Paymaster,  dam  un- 
known. From  Abdallah,  with  his  unknown  grand- 
mother, we  have,  two  or  three  generations  removed, 
each  with  its  unknown  dam,  Rysdyk's  Hambleto- 
nian,  with  his  famous  sons  Dexter,  George  Wilkes,  and 
Mountain  Boy.     From  Mambrino  Paymaster,  with  his 


AGRICULTURE  AND  THE   HORSE.  373 

unhiown   dam,   we    have    Mambrino    Chief,    dam   also 
unhioion,    though   said   to   be  of  Messenger  descent; 
and  from  Mambrino   Chief  we  have   Lady  Thorn   and 
Mambrino  Pilot  and    Mambrino  Patchen   and  Ericsson 
and  Brignoli  and  Ashland,  in  whose  pedigrees  will  be 
found  as  many  unhiown  dams  as  there  are  sires , and 
grandsires.     And  as  I  trace  the  blood  of  the  old  horse 
into   Maine   and  Vermont,  where   all   the  mares  were 
"unknown,"  what   a   tribe   of    our   earliest   and   best 
trotters  rises  before  my  vision !  —  Ripton,  the  gallant 
"white-legged   pony,"    the   favorite    of  Hiram    Wood- 
ruff,  the  resolute   and   plucky   and   triumphant,  rival- 
ling Dutchman  as  a  three-miler,    and  defeating   Lady 
Suffolk,    an   eastern  horse,   undoubtedly  of  Messenger 
and    Morgan    blood  ;    and    Daniel    D.     Tompkins,    a 
wonderful   little   horse  ;    and    Gen.    Taylor,    "  a    very 
famous   trotter   and   sticker ;  "  and  Independence,  the 
delight  of  my  boyhood ;    and  Fanny  Pullen,  the  dam 
of  Trustee,  the  twenty-miler  ;    and  Shepherd  Knapp; 
and  Mac;   and  True  John;   and  Green-Mountain  Maid; 
and  Gray  Vermont;    and    Sontag;    and   Ethan   Allen 
(dam,    a    Messenger   mare),    the   best   balanced   horse 
ever  seen   on   an  American    track,  the    evenest-gaited 
horse  from  the  walk  onward  ever  bred,  and  the  most 
striking   illustration    of    the    enervating    influence   of 
high  feed  and  rapid  work  in  early  life  ever  known  in 
horse   annals.      These   horses,    far   removed    from   the 
original  thorough-bred,  and  fortunate  in  the  strain  of 
blood  which  they  do  possess,  springing  from  families 


374  AGRICULTURE  AND   THE   HORSE. 

in  which  an  admixture  of  various  races  is  undoubt- 
edly to  be  found ;  members  of  a  list  honorable  and 
illustrious,  commencing  with  Topgallant  and  Whale- 
bone and  Dutchman  and  Confidence  and  Wash- 
ington and  Rattler  and  Lady  Suffolk,  with  their 
"unjaiown"  strains,  and  ending  in  our  day  with  Flora 
Temple  and  Goldsmith's  Maid  and  Dexter  and  Ameri- 
can Girl  and  Lucy,  and  Bonner's  Pocahontas  (the 
Bates  mare),  the  queen  of  mares,  with  their  great 
records  and  their  absolute  defiance  of  time  and  space, 
—  these  horses,  I  say,  illustrate  what  I  mean  by  that 
power  of  the  American  trotter  which  is  to  be  obtained 
by  removal,  step  by  step,  from  the  form  and  gait  of  the 
thorough-bred. 

But  not  everywhere  does  this  removal  accomplish 
the  object  which  the  breeder  of  horses  in  America  has 
in  view.  Old  Messenger  did  not  leave  behind  him  the 
same  fruits  in  Pennsylvania  that  he  did  in  New  York. 
He  met  nowhere  in  that  more  southern  region  the 
blood  which  it  was  necessary  to  mingle  with  his  own 
in  order  to  produce  the  genuine  American  horse. 
Who  can  tell  that  his  fame  as  the  ancestor  of  a  long 
line  of  trotters  is  not  due  as  much  to  the  fortunate 
locality  in  which  his  lot  was  cast  as  to  his  own  intrin- 
sic merit?  Who  can  tell  that  Diomed,  and  his  two 
famous  sons  Sir  Henry  and  Duroc,  would  not  have 
been  rivals  of  Messenger,  and  his  more  famous  sons 
Marabrino  and  Hambletonian,  had  the  two  families 
exchanged  residences,  and  Messenger  had  gone  down 


AGRICULTURE  AND   TflE   HORSE.  375 

into  Kentucky  among  the  tliorough-breds  of  that  State, 
while  Duroc  had  cast  his  lot  among  the  "unknown" 
mares  of  the  North  ? 

However  this  may  be,  sir,  we  have  got  the  American 
horse  all  along  the  northern  line,  from  Eastport  to 
Detroit,  ay,  still  farther  west, — a  fortunate  combination 
of  various  bloods,  invigorated  by  the  sharp  air  of  our 
northern  hills,  refreshed  by  our  cold  northern  streams, 
fed  into  hard  bone  and  vigorous  muscle  by  our  short 
and  sweet  northern  pastures,  and  capable  of  carrying 
his  sturdy  forces,  and  implanting  them,  for  a  generation 
or  two  at  least,  among  the  heavier  bones  and  softer 
muscles  of  more  luxuriant  valleys,  milder  skies,  and 
warmer  springs.  That  he  gets  somewhat  of  his  power 
from  his  native  soil  and  climate,  there  can  be  no  doubt. 
But  how  has  he  converted  that  stilted  gait  of  the  thor- 
ough-bred into  the  swinging  stride  and  powerful  knee- 
action  of  the  trotter?  What  has  changed  the  narrow 
and  confined  shoulder  of  the  thorough-bred  —  with  its 
short  humerus  attached,  and  the  necessarily  advanced 
position  of  the  fore-leg  so  near  the  point  of  the  shoulder 
that  a  line  falling  thence  touches  the  toe  —  to  loose 
shoulder-blade  and  long  humerus,  — long  from  the  elbow 
to  the  point  of  the  shoulder,  so  that  a  line  falling  from 
this  point  touches  the  ground  far  in  front  of  the  foot, 
—  and  to  that  massive  and  muscular  base  which  wins 
for  the  good  trotter  that  common  exclamation,  "What  a 
rousing  shoulder !  "  ?  What  has  cut  down  those  sharp, 
thin  withers  of  the   thorough-bred,   and  filled  in  the 


376  AGRICULTURE  AND   THE   HORSE. 

space  above  the  top  of  the  shoulder-blades  with  such  a 
mass  of  strong  muscle?  What  has  strengthened  that 
lower  jaw,  so  that  the  horse  and  his  driver  may  be 
made  one  through  the  bit  and  rein?  What  has 
dropped  the  points  of  the  hips  below  the  level  of  the 
rump,  where  they  stand  usually  in  the  thorough -bred  ? 
What  has  judiciously  cooled  the  ardor,  and  increased 
the  patience,  and  enlarged  the  sagacity,  of  the  thorough- 
bred ?  What  has  incased  the  untiring  channels  of  true 
blood  in  a  new  frame,  of*  proportions  hitherto  unknown 
to  them,  until  they  were  subjected  to  the  influence 
of  American  companions,  and  American  wants,  and 
American  institutions?  Probably  no  single  cause,  but 
many  combined.  The  habit  of  driving,  to  which  I 
have  alluded,  has  undoubtedly  done  much  towards 
bringing  about  this  result.  But  this  alone  is  not  suffi- 
cient. And  I  am  constrained  to  believe  that  we  owe 
much  of  the  shape  and  stride  which  distinguish  our  best 
trotters  to  a  larger  or  smaller  infusion  of  Canadian 
blood,  derived  from  the  early  importations  of  Norman 
horses  into  Canada,  which  have  been  improved  in  size 
and  quality  by  the  soil  and  climate  of  their  new  home. 
In  very  many  of  our  good  trotters  this  is  manifest. 
All  the  descendants  of  Henry  Clay  (whose  sire  was 
Long-Island  Black  Hawk,  and  whose  dam  was  ''  Surry, 
a  mare  of  great  speed  from  Canada"),  especially  the 
get  of  Cassius  M.  Clay  (a  son  of  Henry),  have  the  thick 
jowl,  and  heavy  ear,  and  round  muscle,  and  thick 
sinews,  and  coarse-grained  foot,  of  the  family  from  which 


AGRICULTURE  AND   THE   HORSE.  377 

their  mother  sprang.  How  the  Morrills  show  it,  even 
when  brought  down  to  Young  Morrill,  and,  through 
him  and  that  wonderful  Steve  French  mare,  to  the  pair 
of  princes,  duo  geminos  fidmina  hell%  Fearnaught  and 
Fearnaught,  jun. !  How  apparent  it  was  in  Hiram  Drew ! 
Sometimes  there  is  enough  of  it  to  make  them  faint, 
and  sometimes  just  enough  to  send  them  along.  So 
Pilot,  ''a  genuine  Cannuck,"  came  over  into  the  States, 
and  stirred  up  the  thorough-blood  to  the  extent  of 
Pilot,  jun.,  and  his  rousing  son  John  Morgan,  and  rush- 
ing daughter,  the  dam  of  Mambrino  Pilot.  So,  from  a 
Canadian  mare,  Rysdyk's  Hambletonian  got  Bruno,  and 
the  Brother  of  Bruno,  and  their  full  sister  Brunette. 
So  "  a  small  pacing  Cannuck  "  brought  forth  "  Gift,  a 
chestnut  gelding  bj  Mambrino  Pilot,"  who,  "at  four 
years  old,  received  five  forfeits,  and  challenged,  through 
'The  Spirit  of  the  Times,'  any  colt  of  the  same  age  to 
trot  to  harness  or  to  wagon  for  a  thousand  dollars,  with- 
out being  accepted."  So  Old  Morrill  received  and 
transmitted  that  tremendous  stride,  which  his  family 
will  never  lose  until  they  are  swamped  by  the  daisy-cut- 
ters of  Virginia  or  the  English  turf  So  that  wonderful 
little  incarnation  of  equine  genius,  Justin  Morgan,  son 
of  True  Briton  and  the  Great  Unknown  Mare,  inspired 
and  elevated  the  cold  horse-blood  of  Vermont  (undoubt- 
edly largely  filled  with  a  French  infusion  at  the  time  of 
his  arrival  there)  up  to  the  courage  and  endurance  and 
style  of  Sherman  and  Green  Mountain,  and  at  last  to 
the  speed  of  Black  Hawk,  and  Ethan  Allen,  and  Lady 


378  AGRICULTUKE   AND   THE  HORSE. 

Sutton,  and  Gen.  Knox,  and  Lancet,  and  Gen.  Lyon, 
and  Honest  Allen,  and  Gilbreth  Knox.  And  so  the 
thousands  of  medium-sized,  hardy,  enduring  horses  in 
the  service  of  the  family,  in  the  stage-coach,  in  livery, 
on  the  track,  and  on  the  road,  go  whirling  on  with  their 
Norman  stride  and  their  thorough-bred  wind  and 
courage. 

Hence,  then,  our  American  horse  ;  and,  taking  him 
as  he  is,  I  have  an  idea  that  Ave  can  so  direct  his  breed^ 
ing  as  to  preserve  to  ourselves  all  his  best  qualities,  and 
even  enlarge  and  improve  them.  I  am  aware  that  the 
breeding  of  horses  is  a  difficult  and  doubtful  business. 
The  horse  holds  a  position  in  the  scale  of  being  which 
makes  him  peculiarly  sensitive,  from  his  embryo  life 
upward,  to  all  surrounding  influences.  The  fact  that 
but  a  few  generations  are  necessary  to  change  almost 
his  entire  structure,  in  order  to  conform  to  a  change  of 
climate  and  soil,  is  sufficient  evidence  of  the  ease  with 
which  his  race  may  be  modified  by  the  accidents  about 
him,  or  by  the  designs  of  his  master.  Suffolk  pigs, 
short-horned  cattle,  terrier  pups,  can  be  bred  to  order. 
Not  so  the  horse.  He  is  a  bundle  of  forces  moral 
and  physical,  either  class  of  which  may  be  distorted  by 
influences  almost  beyond  our  control.  A  calm,  coura- 
geous, docile,  intelligent  mare,  beai'ing  a  colt  sired  by 
a  stallion  equally  well  balanced  with  herself,  may  be 
subjected  to  sudden  fright ;  she  may  fall  into  bad 
hands,  and  be  lashed  to  madness  while  pregnant ;  she 
may  have  her  attention  fixed  on  some  ignoble  compan- 


AGRICULTUKE   A:ND   THE   HORSE.  870 

ion ;  and  the  character  of  her  offspring  be  so  different 
from  her  own  or  that  of  its  sire,  that  she  is  ashamed  of 
it  (or  ought  to  be),  and  her  owner  despises  it.  Every 
man  knows  that  some  families  of  horses  are  easily 
broken  to  harness,  in  fact  have  a  natural  gift  in  that 
direction,  and  take  kindly  to  the  strap  and  the  shaft ; 
and  that  other  families  are  rebellious  and  violent,  and 
almost  untamable.  That  this  quality  is  inherited,  there 
can  be  no  doubt ;  and,  if  you  do  doubt  it,  take  the  Eng- 
lish thorough-bred,  with  his  inheritance  of  stormy  pas- 
sions and  impetuosity  on  the  turf,  and  his  days  of  idle- 
ness in  which  his  vices  grow  apace,  and  compare  him, 
on  all  points  of  submission,  docility,  and  usefulness, 
with  the  American  horse  of  all  work,  the  heir  of  every 
accomplishment  which  can  make  a  horse  useful  at  the 
plough  or  the  cart,  or  on  the  track  or  road.  Now, 
these  qualities  may  easily  be  transmitted,  and  they  may 
easily  be  destroyed.  A  rough  master  may  upset  all 
the  virtues  of  generations,  and  unexpectedly  find  him- 
self the  owner  of  a  colt  inspired  with  all  the  wildness 
and  savagery  of  its  remote  ancestors.  It  is  a  good  deal 
to  ask,  I  know ;  but,  if  a  man  means  to  raise  up  a  good- 
tempered  and  civilized  family  of  horses,  he  must  be 
good-tempered  and  civilized  himself. 

And  then  the  unexpected  physical  variations :  who 
can  account  for  them?  You  can  generally  be  pretty 
sure  of  breeding  a  pig  which  will  weigh  a  given  num- 
ber of  pounds  at  a  given  age.  You  can  generally  breed 
a  short-horned  cow  with  certain  specified  lines,  a  de- 


880  AGRICULTUEE   AND   THE   HOESE. 

sired  color,  a  wislied-for  aptitude  to  fatten,  and  any 
number  of  such  inglorious  qualities  which  make  up  a 
good  beef-producer ;  but  to  breed  that  delicate  organi- 
zation which  makes  a  good  milch-cow,  and  that  nice 
adjustment  of  nerves  and  veins,  and  bones  and  muscles, 
which  makes  a  really  valuable  horse,  is  not  so  easy. 
Even  thorough-breds  vary  to  a  degree  entirely  unac- 
countable. The  size  varies,  the  color  varies,  the  form 
varies,  the  power  varies,  in  a  family  bred  even  from  one 
sire  and  one  dam.  The  success  which  has  attended  the 
efforts  of  the  best  breeders  is  so  small  as  to  be  truly 
discouraging.  The  great  English  horse  Eclipse,  bred  as 
he  was  to  hundreds  of  the  best  mares  of  his  time,  got 
only  three  hundred  and  forty-four  winners ;  and  half  of 
these  never  got  beyond  a  single  race.  Matchem,  another 
great  and  victorious  horse  on  the  English  turf,  got  but 
three  hundred  and  fifty  -  four  winners.  And  King 
Herod,  the  third  king  of  the  race-course  and  the  stud, 
got  only  four  hundred  and  ninety-seven  winners,  but 
few  of  which  made  any  mark  beyond  their  first  effort. 
What  will  the  most  enthusiastic  friend  of  any  trotting- 
stallion  known  within  the  last  thirty  years  tell  us  of 
the  trotting-capacity  of  his  stock  ?  Old  Black  Hawk 
stood  for  mares  almost  from  the  day  when,  a  four-year- 
old  colt,  he  trotted  down  from  Dover,  N.H.,  and  went 
star-gazing  into  William  Brown's  stable-yard  at  Haver- 
hill, to  be  purchased  by  this  veteran  landlord  and 
horseman,  in  connection  with  his  friend  Thurston  of 
Lowell,  to  the  hour  when  he  died  in  the  comfortable 


AGRICULTURE   AND   THE   HORSE.  381 

stable  of  David  Hill  of  Bridport,  Yt,  for  whom  he 
had  earned  a  fortune ;  and  yet  you  can  count  his 
trotting  sons  and  daughters  on  your  fingers.  So,  too, 
of  Ethan  Allen,  and  Gen.  Knox,  and  the  Drew  Horse, 
and  the  Eaton  Horse,  and  Old  Witherell,  and  Lambert, 
and  Rysdyk's  Hambletonian,  and  Young  Morrill,  and 
Fearnaught,  and  a  host  of  others,  known  and  unknown ; 
while  some  unheard-of  stallion  has  sent  his  single  offer- 
ing to  the  track,  "but  that  one  a  lion." 

Why,  sir,  I  said,  in  the  beginning,  that  I  thought  I 
could  breed  about  the  horse  I  wanted  in  size,  shape, 
and  temperament.  I  think  so  still ;  and  yet  the  expe- 
rience I  have  had  is  somewhat  discouraging,  and  will 
hardly  sustain  my  theory.  I  purchased  many  years 
ago  an  Abdallah  mare,  of  good  speed  and  bottom, 
fifteen  hands  and  two  inches  high,  weighing  about  ten 
hundred  and  fifty  pounds,  and  of  bay  color  with 
black  points.  She  was  a  good  mare,  and  evidently 
well  bred.  She  had  speed  ;  could  trot  in  fifty  almost 
any  day  in  the  week.  I  bred  her  five  times  to  Trotting 
Childers,  a  son  of  Hill's  Black  Hawk,  and  out  of  Lady 
Forest,  afterwards  called  Lady  Maynard,  —  as  speedy  a 
mare  as  ever  dashed  down  Boston  Neck  in  the  days 
when  Hiram  Woodruff  used  to  send  "  the  roan  horse  " 
whirling  past  every  thing  except  the  mare.  My  first 
colt  was  a  shrewd,  sagacious,  but  tempestuous  little 
horse,  fourteen  hands  and  an  inch  high,  with  a  rather 
light  fore-leg,  not  a  good  foot,  with  the  endurance  of  a 
locomotive,  with  the  jauntiest  gait  in  the  world,  as  black 


382  AGRICULTURE   AND   THE    HORSE. 

as  a  coal,  as  big  again  moving  as  when  he  stood  still, 
and  with  speed  enough  to  send  him  round  a  mile-track 
in  road  condition  in  2.38.  He  was  as  good  a  little  horse 
as  I  ever  saw ;  and  his  name  was  Doncaster.  My  next 
colt  was  a  mare,  fifteen  hands  high,  quiet  and  calm, 
and  a  little  phlegmatic  in  her  temperament;  with  a 
fine  head ;  long  and  well-proportioned  neck ;  well-bal- 
anced shoulders  and  quarters;  with  an  easy,  stealing 
gait;  honest;  reliable;  somewhat  timid ;  who  could  trot 
in  about  three  minutes ;  not  quite  as  large  when  moving 
as  when  standing  still ;  in  color  black,  with  white  hind- 
feet.  She  was  a  most  amiable  and  lovely  mare  ;  and 
her  name  was  Jemima.  My  next  colt  was  a  delicate, 
nervous,  incapable,  fine-drawn,  light-limbed  mare,  about 
fourteen  hands  two  inches  high,  in  color  black,  and 
in  all  her  attributes  thin.  She  never  got  so  far  with 
me  as  to  have  a  name.  My  next  colt  was  a  solid,  lazy, 
inactive  chunk  of  a  bay  horse,  as  unattractive  as  possi- 
ble ;  slow ;  would  not  go  without  whipping,  and,  if 
you  whipped  him,  would  make  for  the  nearest  stone 
wall ;  had  neither  vigor  nor  speed,  but  possessed  the 
same  power  of  endurance  as  distinguishes  an  ox.  He 
lives  on  a  farm  somewhere  now ;  and  I  am  sure  he 
enjoys  its  repose.  He  never  had  any  name,  so  far  as 
I  know.  My  fifth  and  last  colt  was  a  horse  ;  and  such 
a  horse !  Why,  Jim  !  —  I  own  liiin  now,  an  airy-gaited, 
elastic,  vigorous  bay,  fifteen  hands  high ;  weighs  ten 
hundred  and  forty  pounds ;  with  a  head  full  of  delicacy 
and  strength  ;  with  fire  and  prudence  combined  ;  with  a 


AGRICULTURE  AND   THE   HORSE.  383 

tail  like  a  waterfall ;  with  a  foot  like  a  sledge,  and  a  leg 
like  a  bundle  of  wires  ;  with  a  shoulder  and  quarter  just 
fitted  to  the  most  perfect  back  and  barrel  ever  seen ; 
as  mild  as  the  moonbeams  when  Jerusha  drives  him, 
and  as  stormy  as  the  ''vexed  Boothes"  when  I  take 
him  in  hand,  and  call  on  him;  capable  of  seventy-five 
miles  in  a  day  in  single  harness  without  weariness  to 
himself  or  his  driver,  and  able  to  wear  out  any  horse 
I  ever  hitched  him  with  in  double  harness ;  a  dis- 
criminating horse,  who  knows  me  above  everybody  else, 
knows  what  I  like  and  what  I  want,  does  it,  and  can 
trot  any  day  in  2.40.  His  name,  sir,  is  Jim,  as  I  told 
you ;  and  a  rare  horse  he  is.  Now,  that  is  one  family, — 
three  good  ones,  and  two  poor  ones,  no  two  in  any 
respect  alike  (except  in  color),  either  in  speed,  or 
shape,  or  temperament,  or  size,  or  appearance.  Neither 
physically  nor  morally  did  they  resemble  each  other. 

I  have  had  another  family,  sir,  quite  as  remarkable 
as  this.  Many  years  ago  I  purchased  a  large  white 
Messenger  mare,  raised  in  the  State  of  Maine,  —  a 
mare  of  great  courage,  strength,  and  speed.  She  stood 
fifteen  hands  three  inches  high,  and  weighed,  when  in 
good  condition,  nearly  eleven  hundred.  She  was  a 
great  mare  every  way.  She  had  had  two  colts  by 
Ethan  Allen  when  I  bought  her, — one  a  clumsy,  heavy- 
gaited,  dull  brute,  sixteen  hands  high,  with  a  big  head, 
a  bad  fore-leg,  a  curby  hind-leg  adorned  with  bog 
spavins ;  the  other  a  bay  colt,  analogous  to  his  brother 
in  every  respect,  except  that  his   curbs  were  smaller, 


384  AGRICULTURE  AND   THE   HORSE. 

and  his  spavins  larger.  This  mare  I  bred  to  Doncaster, 
the  horse  of  my  own  breeding  previously  alluded 
to.  The  result  was  a  gray  mare,  fourteen  and  a 
half  hands  high,  a  perfect  bundle  of  well-balanced 
bone  and  nauscle.  Her  intelligence  is  marvellous. 
She  knows  by  sudden  instinct  what  to  do  ;  and,  by  as 
sudden  an  instinct,  she  does  it.  Her  strength  is  like 
that  of  the  little  horse  Justin  Morgan.  Her  stride 
is  equal  to  that  of  a  sixteen-hand  horse,  and  as  even 
as  machinery;  while  her  step  is  as  firm  and  rapid  as 
a  steam-driven  hammer.  I  have  driven  many  horses 
in  my  day,  but  not  one  equal  to  this  mare,  from  her 
first  movement,  walking  away  from  the  stable,  to  her 
bursts  of  speed  on  the  road,  which  are  tremendous. 
She  endears  herself  to  everybody  who  rides  behind  her. 
Women  grow  cheerful  under  her  influence ;  young 
men  are  lost  in  admiration ;  and  many  an  old  man,  after 
feeling  her  invigorating  power,  has  sent  me  word  back 
from  his  retirement,  that  he  must  have  that  mare  if 
I  should  ever  part  with  her.  She  is  not  fine  drawn 
in  any  respect;  has  not  high,  sharp  withers,  nor  thin 
lips,  nor  small  ears,  nor  a  slim  neck :  but  she  has  a 
luxuriance  of  every  thing  that  can  give  power  to  a 
brilliant  little  mare,  who  knows  that  her  life  means 
cheerful  business,  and  not  dismal  and  idle  play.  Her 
name  is  "  The  White  Marc ;  "  and  you  may  be  sure  she 
will  never  disgrace  it. 

This  mare  I  bred  five  seasons  to  a  young  stallion,  also 
sired  by  Doncaster  out  of  a  long,  low,  strong,  rapid 


AGRICULTURE  AND   THE  HORSE.  385 

eastern  mare ;  and  a  good  young  stallion  he  was, 
named  Blue  Jacket.  I  felt  very  confident  that  I  should, 
at  any  rate,  secure  uniformity  from  so  close  a  connection 
as  this ;  and  I  also  felt  confident  that  I  should  get  a 
great  many  valuable  qualities  from  a  sire  and  dam  so 
well  bred  and  so  full  of  merit  themselves.  The  first 
colt,  now  known  as  Sorrel  Jim,  is  as  good  a  little  horse 
as  one  could  desire,  about  fourteen  hands  high,  of  light 
sorrel  color,  with  lighter  mane  and  tail ;  with  a  loose, 
open,  strong  gait ;  great  intelligence  and  courage  ;  and 
speed  enough  to  beat  almost  every  thing  he  meets  on 
the  road,  even  when  handled  by  my  young  daughter, 
who  now  owns  and  drives  him.  He  is  a  most  attrac- 
tive little  horse.  The  next  colt  was  a  gray  mare,  not 
at  all  preposessing,  and  by  no  means  worthy  of  her  dis- 
tinguished ancestry.  The  next  colt  was  a  gray  horse 
of  about  the  same  description ;  and  I  began  to  despair. 
The  next  was  a  bay  horse ;  and  a  good  bay  horse  he  is. 
I  have  no  fear  of  him.  His  head  and  neck  and  shoul- 
der and  back  and  quarter  and  leg  will  carry  him  very 
far  up  the  steep  which  leads  to  the  temple  of  fame, 
or  I  am  very  much  mistaken.  He  is  not  as  brilliant  as 
his  dam  ;  but  he  has  immense  strength,  a  great,  even 
gait,  an  abundance  of  calm  determination,  steady  cour- 
age, and  a  personal  pride  which  will  not  be  trifled  with. 
The  last  colt,  and  the  fifth  which  the  mare  has  had  by 
Blue  Jacket,  is  a  mouse-colored  filly,  too  young  to  tell 
even  the  first  chapter  of  her  story. 

Here  I  had  a  dam  and  sire  closely  related,  bearing  in 

25 


386  AGRICULTURE  AND   THE  HORSE. 

their  veins  the  blood  of  the  Messenger,  the  Abdallah, 
the  Black  Hawk,  Lady  Forest,  and  the  best  of  the 
Great  Unknown ;  but  what  a  diverse  family  I  had  from 
them!  And  yet  this  is  horse-breeding,  whenever  you 
leave  the  commonplace  work  of  breeding  slow  and 
phlegmatic  cart-horses,  and  advance  into  those  regions 
where  the  highest  attributes  of  the  horse  must  be  re- 
produced in  order  to  secure  that  animal  which  can  dis- 
tinguish himself  on  the  track  or  road.  And  this  seems 
to  be  Nature's  law.  The  production  of  all  the  lower 
order  of  animals,  or  of  all  the  lower  grades  of  any  race, 
however  high  it  may  be,  is  not  easily  driven  out  of  the 
channels  laid  down  for  it  by  the  generally-recognized 
rule.  A  pound  of  beef  or  a  pound  of  pork  can  be  as 
easily  produced  as  can  a  bushel  of  wheat  or  corn.  Not 
so,  however,  the  finer  qualities  to  which  the  flesh  is 
obedient,  and  which  will  triumph  in  spite  of  physical 
defect  or  deformity  or  weakness ;  as  the  "  gallant 
Gray  "  laid  down  his  life  in  the  "  Trosachs'  rugged 
jaws;  "  and  as  "the  evergreen,  live-oak,  old  Top-gallant, 
in  his  twenty-fourth  year,"  and  "spavined  in  both 
legs,"  rushed  in  and  won  three-mile  races  against  the 
best  horses  of  his  day,  and  laughed  at  his  ten-year-old 
companions,  who,  with  their  feeble  spirits,  were  "  stag- 
gering about,  over-kneed,  and  twisted  up,  and  knuckled 
behind,"  and  were  waiting  only  for  the  end  of  an 
ignoble  career.  Not  only  is  it  almost  impossible  to 
transmit  this  ethereal  spirit,  in  its  precise  quality  and 
quantity,    from    generation    to     generation,    but   it   is 


AGRICULTURE  AND   THE   HORSE.  387 

equally  impossible,  while  striving  for  this  excellence,  to 
preserve  that  physical  uniformity  which  belongs  to  the 
more  material  and  the  grosser  organizations.  So  Rosa 
Bonheur  can  paint  a  drove  of  Norman  horses,  and  Her- 
ring a  litter  of  pigs  in  a  farm-yard,  all  of  each  group 
bearing  an  exact  resemblance  to  each  other,  and  none 
rising  above  the  low  level  of  masses  of  organized  matter. 
But  not  so  with  the  English  thorough-bred,  nor  with 
the  American  trotter.  They  are  not  to  be  found  in 
droves,  or  uniform  groups,  or  litters.  Upon  their  con- 
formations, a  thousand  influences,  partly  moral  and 
partly  physical,  operate ;  and  they  will  not  obey  the 
law  of  physical  uniformity  so  long  as  they  strive  for 
individual  excellence.  I  might  carry  this  thought  into 
a  higher  sphere,  sir;  but  I  leave  it  for  every  thoughtful 
observer,  who  contemplates  the  variety  of  characters  by 
which  he  is  surrounded  in  his  daily  walk,  to  do  this 
for  himself     I  confine  my  discussion  to  horses. 

If,  while  we  are  striving  to  breed  horses  of  a  high 
quality  and  great  merit,  we  cannot  get  uniformity,  you 
may  ask,  sir,  "  What  can  we  get  ?  and  what  becomes  of 
your  early  statement,  that  you  felt  sure  you  could  breed 
the  horse  you  wanted,  according  to  a  standard  laid 
down  by  yourself?  "  To  this  I  answer,  that  I  do  not 
expect  to  succeed  in  every  case,  and  that  I  am  willing 
to  bear  my  share  of  failures  while  striving  for  a  rea- 
sonable amount  of  success.  In  the  account  I  have 
given  of  two  families  of  my  horses,  out  of  the  many 
which  I  have  bred,  you  will  find  that  five  out  of  the 


388  AGRICULTURE  AND  THE  HORSE. 

ten  have  been  remarkable.     Either  one  of  this   five, 
different  as  they  were  from  each  other,  would  satisfy 
any  man  who  wanted  a  horse  to  fill  the  place  to  which 
the  selected  one  was  adapted.     While  they  were  not 
all  alike,  they  were  all  good,  and  reached   the  mark 
aimed  at ;    some  rising  far  above  it.     Apply  this  expe- 
rience to  a  community  engaged  in  breeding  horses ;  as- 
sure that  community,  that,  with  careful  and  ambitious 
breeding,  they  can  be  sure  of  having  valuable  horses  in 
one  half  the  cases  around  them,  and  that  the  other  half 
will  be  at  least  remunerative,  and  you  offer  all  the  in- 
ducement that  reasonable  men  ought  to  ask  in  any  busi- 
ness in  life.     This  point,  then,  I  have  reached;    and, 
while  I   am   not   willing   to   state  the   prices   I   have 
received  for  the  good  horses  I  have  bred  and  sold,  I 
can  only  say,  that  had  I  lost  the  five  poor  ones,  and 
received  nothing  for  them,  the  receipts  from  such  of 
my  good  ones  as  I  have  sold  are  sufficient  to  place  my 
horses   alongside  of  my  best  cattle  and  sheep  on  the 
score  of  profit  alone.     They  have  paid  me  well :   and 
they  ought ;  for,  in  order  to  produce  them,  I  have  been 
obliged  to  learn  wisdom  from  many  fiiilures  of  my  own 
and  my  neighbors,  to  incur  the  expense  of  breeding 
from  gift  mares    (the   most   expensive   of    all   mares) 
against  my  judgment,  and  to  devote  my  mind  to  the 
business  in  a  way,  which,  in  any  sphere  in  life,  is  en- 
titled to  success.     Let  no  farmer  doubt,  then,  that  he 
can  breed  a  good  horse,  and  do  it  profitably,  if  he  will 
exercise  judgment  and  skill,  —  not  a  bay  horse  always, 


AGRICULTURE  AND  THE  HORSE.  389 

nor  a  black  one,  nor  a  chestnut  one,  nor  a  gray  one,  nor 
''one  of  a  pair,"  but  a  good  one.  And  above  all,  when 
he  has  got  his  colt,  let  him  learn  to  estimate  him  at  his 
true  value,  neither  clothing  the  unfortunate  animal 
with  merits  which  he  really  does  not  possess,  nor  dis- 
posing of  him  to  some  keen-eyed  buyer,  who,  by  dis- 
covering his  powers,  and  realizing  his  promise,  may 
reap  the  reward. 

I  have  read  a  good  many  books  and  essays,  Mr. 
Chairman,  on  the  subject  of  breeding.  Some  of  them 
I  found  to  be  very  useful,  and  some  of  them  very  use- 
less ;  and  many  of  them  discuss  so  profoundly  questions 
already  settled,  that  I  am  always  reminded  of  Dr. 
Holmes's  Katydid,  who  said 

*'  Such  undisputed  tilings  in  such  a  solemn  way." 

But  from  my  own  flocks  and  herds  I  have  learned  a 
few  rules,  which,  if  always  applied,  will,  I  think,  be  ad- 
vantageous to  our  agricultural  friends:  at  least,  they 
have  been  to  me. 

In  selecting  a  horse  or  a  mare  from  several  of  equal 
merit  for  breeding-purposes  from  two  or  more  families 
also  of  equal  merit,  I  choose  that  family  which  has  the 
best  ancestry. 

Never  hope  to  get,  from  a  sire  which  you  do  not 
Hke  and  a  dam  which  you  do  not  like,  offspring  which 
you  do  like. 

Do  not  try  to  breed  out  an  unsoundness-:  you  may 
not  live  long  enough  to  do  it.  But  you  can  sell  in  an 
instant,  —  "in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye." 


390  AGRICULTURE  AND   THE  HORSE. 

Breed  in-and-in  as  much  as  you  like,  if  you  have 
exactly  what  you  want  on  both  sides.  I  never  knew 
a  good  family  of  cattle,  or  a  good  flock  of  sheep,  to  be 
reached  in  any  other  way.  If  you  want  a  good  family 
of  animals  of  any  description  around  you,  begin  right, 
and  then  stay  at  home.  It  does  no  good  to  wander  all 
over  creation,  introducing  experiments  into  your  sta- 
bles, and  confusion  with  the  experiments.  But  remem- 
ber, that  if  you  expect  to  reap  the  advantages  of  close 
breeding,  and  hope  to  perpetuate  the  good  qualities 
which  you  already  possess,  you  must  feed  well,  and  take 
good  care.  Starvation  and  improvement  do  not  go 
together.  This  rule  holds  good  with  regard  to  cattle 
and  sheep;  and  that  it  holds  good,  also,  with  regard 
to  horses,  those  familiar  with  the  families  of  Selim  and 
Touchstone  and  Defence  and  Bubens  will  readily  ac- 
knowledge. For  myself,  I  turn  to  my  AYhite  Mare 
and  Blue  Jacket,  with  their  colts  Sorrel  Jim  and  Billy, 
as  an  encouragement  to  the  breeders  of  trotters.  How 
I  should  like  to  see  a  colt  from  Bonner  s  Pocahontas 
and  Daniel  Lambert ! 

Never  breed  from  an  immature  horse.  Weakness 
and  unsoundness  are  pretty  sure  to  follow.  The  value 
of  a  horse  consists  in  the  perfection  of  all  his  faculties 
and  organs,  —  his  bones,  muscles,  sinews,  brains.  He 
cannot  transmit  these  with  any  certainty  until  he  has 
them  himself  Young  horses  are  always  doubtful  sires. 
Old  horses,  if  good  themselves,  have  seldom  any  reason 
to  be  ashamed  of  their  offspring.     Ethan  Allen  ruined 


AGRICULTUBE  AND   THE  HORSE.  891 

his  reputation  as  a  stock-getter  by  starting  too  young; 
and  so  ruined  it,  that  even  the  success  of  his  later  years 
has  hardly  redeemed  it.  Waxy  and  Melbourne  and 
Ion  and  Sir  Hercules  in  England,  and  Black  Hawk  and 
Messenger  and  Abdallah  in  America,  sired  many  of 
their  best  colts  when  they  were  twenty  or  more  years 
old.  I  bred  a  good  two-year-old  stallion  once  to  six 
good  mares,  and  got  six  good-for-nothing  colts.  The 
same  stallion  did  fine  service  at  ten. 

I  would  not  breed  from  kickers  or  biters,  or  sullen 
horses,  or  half-broken  horses  or  mares,  or  from  horses 
and  mares  which  have  not  been  accustomed  for  gen- 
erations to  the  work  of  civilized,  useful,  and  practical 
life.  I  would  have  the  acquired  faculties,  which  are 
as  sure  to  be  transmitted  as  the  natural  ones,  as  good 
and  reliable  as  may  be. 

If  you  will  out-cross  in  breeding,  be  careful  not  to 
bring  animals  together  which  are  violently  and  diamet- 
rically difierent  from  each  other.  The  attempts  to 
cross  the  Arab  upon  American  mares  of  Morgan  and 
Messenger  blood,  and  the  modern  English  thorough- 
bred upon  similar  mares,  have  usually  ended  in 
wretched  failures.  And  not  in  this  country  alone  is 
this  true  :  for  when  I  asked  a  distinguished  American 
artist,  long  resident  in  Rome,  why  the  thorough-bred 
of  England  had  not  been  introduced  into  Tuscany  and 
other  parts  of  Italy  to  improve  the  breeds  of  horses 
there,  he  replied,  "It  has  been  done;  but  the  result 
was  a  crop  of  weedy,  leggy  brutes  of  no  value  what- 


392  AGRICULTURE  AND   THE  HORSE. 

ever."  We  have  had  some  notable  instances  of  this 
near  home. 

We  are  always  told  that  we  should  not  breed  a  large 
stallion  upon  small  mares.  I  do  not  think  this  is  a 
universal  law.  I  have  seen  many  large  stallions,  whose 
stock,  even  in  a  country  abounding  in  small  mares,  was 
excellent ;  but  these  were  horses  whose  muscular  struc- 
ture preponderated  largely  over  their  bony,  —  large 
horses  with  quick  and  nimble  action.  Horses  whose 
bony  development  is  greater  than  their  muscular, 
horses  with  thin  muscles  and  great  bones,  would  not 
be  likely  to  improve  the  stock  of  a  region,  especially 
if  the  mares  were  small.  A  thoroughly  good  horse 
with  a  good  ancestry,  whether  large  or  small,  would 
present  great  temptations  to  me.  I  should  be  willing 
to  let  him  prove  himself 

If  either  side  is  to  be  slow,  let  it  be  the  mare.  It 
is  by  the  male  that  a  race  is  to  be  improved.  And 
always  expect  to  get  more  good  females  than  males; 
for  this  is  the  very  general  result  in  breeding  all 
animals. 

When  a  colt  is  born  into  a  family,  especially  if  his 
lot  is  cast  in  pleasant  places  and  he  has  a  goodly  heri- 
tage, the  foremost  danger  is  that  he  will  be  spoiled  in 
early  life.  It  really  seems  as  if  almost  all  owners  of 
horses  endeavored  to  ascertain  how,  in  the  most  expe- 
ditious manner,  to  ruin  them.  The  natural  tendency  of 
a  horse,  young  or  old,  is  to  preserve  himself  in  a  sound 
and  healthy  condition.      The  wear  and  tear  of  a  life  of 


AGRICULTURE   AND   THE   HORSE.  393 

hard  work,  and  the  injurious  effects  of  a  life  of  luxury 
and  ease,  are  about  equally  destructive  to  him ;  and  the 
price  he  is  obliged  to  pay  for  his  intimacy  with  man, 
and  the  care  and  attention  he  receives  at  his  hands, 
is  the  loss,  in  a  large  or  a  small  degree,  of  the  robust 
health  and  elastic  animal  s^Dirits,  and  the  abounding  and 
joyous  and  painless  power  of  motion,  with  which  Nature 
endows  him.  A  colt  is  a  happy  thing  in  the  beginning, 
—  happier  than  a  child:  a  horse  is  intended  to  be 
a  happy  thing  through  life,  —  happier  than  a  man.  But 
the  folly  and  misfortune  which  sadden  and  weaken 
the  master  bear  heavily  also  upon  his  dumb  and  patient 
servant.  The  two  travel  a  hard  road  together,  and 
both  are  obliged  to  pay  the  penalty  which  should  in 
justice  fall  upon  one.  If  this  is  one  of  the  inevitable 
consequences  of  the  decree  which  gives  man  dominion 
over  the  birds  of  the  air  and  the  beasts  of  the  field, 
I  suppose  man  and  animal  must  silently  and  patiently 
submit  and  obey.  But  it  may  not  be  so.  If,  for  the 
gratification  of  ambition  or  pride,  or  for  high  service  to 
his  race,  or  for  immortal  renown,  man  is  willing  to  sub- 
ordinate and  sacrifice  all  his  physical  powers,  and  is 
determined  that  his  body  shall  obey  the  commands 
of  his  imperious  spirit,  inspired  and  consumed  in  the 
great  flame,  so  must  it  be;  but  let  him  spare  his 
servant  who  obeys  him,  —  his  dumb  beast  who  has 
trusted  in  him. 

It  is  a  good  thing,  sir,  to  remember  that  a  horse  has 
certain   natural  faculties,  without  which  he  would  not 


394  AGEICULTURE  AND   THE   HOUSE. 

be  a  horse,  and  which  it  is  important  to  preserve.  Man 
is  so  wise,  as  well  as  tyrannical,  that  he  finds  it  difficult 
to  believe  that  he  is  not  to  remodel  and  reconstruct 
every  thing  which  is  provided  for  his  use  and  comfort 
before  it  is  fit  for  his  imperial  service  ;  and  so  he  med- 
dles with  every  body  and  every  thing.  It  is  much 
easier  for  him  to  comprehend  his  own  handiwork  than 
the  Lord's.  His  boy  stands  before  him,  a  bright,  strong, 
attractive  lad,  full  of  capacity  and  promise ;  a  combina- 
tion of  faculties  good  and  bad,  each  striving  for  the 
ascendency ;  a  fresh  and  glowing  creation  from  the  hand 
of  God,  intended  to  rejoice  his  father,  and  bless  man- 
kind. It  is  only  necessary  for  that  father  to  know  where 
to  encourage  him,  where  to  suppress  him,  and  where  to 
let  him  alone ;  to  distinguish  between  his  healthy  pow- 
ers, which  a  superabundance  of  youth  and  strength  may 
sometimes  make  offensive,  and  those  unhealthy  deform- 
ities, which,  even  while  quiet  and  slumbering,  are  dis- 
gusting and  discouraging.  But  this  is  no  easy  task. 
Where  there  should  be  peace  and  mutual  confidence, 
a  contest  begins :  and,  before  it  ends,  the  boy  has  lost 
his  self-respect,  his  love,  his  confidence  in  his  fellow- 
men  ;  his  virtues  are  discouraged ;  his  vices  rage.  Or  it 
may  be,  that,  in  rooting  up  the  tares,  the  wheat  has  been 
pulled  up  along  with  them ;  or  his  good  points  may 
have  been  distorted  into  subserviency  and  inefficiency, 
while  his  bad  ones  may  have  learned  how  to  play  the 
hypocrite,  and  rule.  Where,  too,  there  should  be  a  manly 
and  dignified  intercourse,  there  is  too  often  an  effemi- 


I 


AGKICULTURE  AND   THE  HORSE.  395 

nate  and  enervating  intimacy.  The  boy  may  be  softened 
into  abject  reliance  upon  those  who  should  inspire  and 
encourage  his  most  manly  self-reliance.  That  apron- 
string  business  —  how  many  a  brave  fellow  has  it  sent 
mewling  through  life  like  a  milksop  !  His  father  has 
made  a  good  boy  of  him,  but  not  the  boy  he  was  in- 
tended to  be.  The  problem  has  been  solved,  but  not 
in  the  right  way.  And,  in  the  trials  which  follow,  he 
wonders  where  those  qualities  are  which  he  felt  moving 
within  him  in  his  youth ;  and  the  father  wonders  Avhy  he 
is  so  little  satisfied  Avith  the  work  of  his  own  hands. 
No,  sir :  do  not  bother  the  boys.  Do  not  meddle  with 
them  too  much.  Make  them  way-wise  early.  Don't 
pat  them  into  weakness,  or  check  them  into  madness. 
And,  when  they  go  forth  in  life,  let  them  have  manliness 
enough  to  meet  their  fellow-men  in  a  manly  way,  gen- 
erosity enough  to  warm  a  generous  feeling  in  the  breasts 
of  their  associates,  charity  enough  to  forgive  the  faults 
of  their  fellow-men,  and  humanity  enough  to  know  that 
it  is  better  and  more  useful  to  encourage  the  virtues 
than  to  expose  the  vices  of  society,  and  more  honorable 
to  set  a  good  example  than  to  pronounce  a  good 
precept. 

But,  sir,  to  the  colts.  They,  like  '  the  boys,  may  be 
spoiled  by  meddling  with  them.  Not  that  I  would  leave 
them  to  run  wild,  —  a  rough  and  shaggy  and  half-savage 
drove.  But  I  would  not  so  thoroughly  domesticate 
them  as  to  obliterate  every  trace  of  that  headlong  and 
impulsive  temperament  which  makes  a  colt  a  colt.     I 


396  AGRICULTURE  AND  THE   HORSE. 

have  seen  many  a  colt,  especially  when  he  was  the  "one 
ewe  lamb,"  so  petted,  that  he  was  more  like  a  house-dog 
than  any  thing  else.  He  had  become  so  much  the  inti- 
mate companion  of  the  family,  that,  as  he  grew  up,  he 
forgot  to  be  in  any  way  the  servant.  An  appeal  to  his 
progressive  faculties,  which  are  the  dominant  faculties 
of  a  horse,  was  received  with  a  sort  of  blank  astonish- 
ment, instead  of  as  a  signal  for  more  vigorous  exertion. 
He  had  lost  all  that  courage  and  independence  which 
Yirgil  saw  and  admired  when  he  spoke  of  his  "leading 
the  way,"  and  "  braving  the  torrent,"  and  daring  "  the 
unknown  arch  that  spans  the  waves."  You  may  sup- 
pose that  a  good  gait  and  strong  powers  of  endurance 
are  not  to  be  destroyed  in  any  such  way  as  this ;  but  I 
assure  you,  that,  while  they  may  possibly  remain,  the 
knowledge  how  to  use  them  may  be  lost.  Every  expe- 
rienced man  knows  that  a  horse  will  be  one  thing  in 
the  hands  of  one  driver,  and  another  thing  in  the  hands 
of  another.  Hiram  Woodruff  could  give  new  strength 
to  the  Roan  the  instant  he  took  the  reins ;  and  Dexter 
and  Ripton  were  inspired  with  new  energy  by  his  touch. 
My  trusty  and  unyielding  favorite,  Jim,  is  a  handful 
when  I  am  behind  him ;  a  quiet  lounger  when  Michael 
has  him  in  hand.  Now,  what  shall  we  say  to  all  this? 
Why,  that  a  horse  knows  what  he  is  doing,  and  whom 
he  is  dealing  with ;  and  that,  having  learned  his  lesson, 
it  becomes  as  much  a  part  of  him  as  his  second  nature. 
If,  therefore,  you  want  a  horse,  let  the  colt  retain,  in  his 
full  vigor,  the  fire  that  warms  his  blood.     You  must  not 


AGRICULTURE   AND   THE   HORSE.  397 

humanize  him  entirely.  Meet  him  half  way.  Let  him 
understand  that  there  is  as  much  horse  in  you  as  you 
expect  there  will  be  man  in  him.  Let  your  intercourse 
with  him  be  calm  and  good-natured,  but  prompt,  ener- 
getic, decided,  with  a  sort  of  careless  firmness,  colored 
with  tenderness  and  youthful  activity. 

A  colt  should  neither  be  petted  to  death,  nor  con- 
quered and  subdued  to  death.  He  should  be  familiar- 
ized with  the  harness  when  so  young,  that  he  may 
imagine  the  straps  to  be  a  part  of  himself.  He  should 
never  knoAV  what  it  is  to  be  '^broken."  He  should 
find  himself  engaged  in  business,  he  hardly  knows  how; 
and  he  should  be  gradually  introduced  to  his  work  with 
an  unruffled  temper,  and  an  acquiescent  but  unsubdued 
spirit.  When  you  conquer  a  young  horse,  you  can 
never  tell  where  the  conquest  is  going  to  end.  I  re- 
member well  the  effect  of  a  pulley-rein  ingeniously 
rigged  by  means  of  the  water-hook,  and  a  ring-bit,  and 
a  lengthened  line,  upon  a  wiry  and  spirited  colt  which 
I  got  many  years  ago  in  the  State  of  Maine.  He  sud- 
denly took  it  into  his  head  to  pull ;  and,  as  usual  with  in- 
experts,  I  pulled  in  turn.  He  was  stronger  than  I,  and 
could  last  longer;  and  so  he  could  out-pull  me  in 
a  ten-mile  drive.  I  fixed  my  pulley  upon  him.  Every 
half-inch  which  I  secured,  I  could  retain.  It  was  an 
uneven  fight  for  him.  Two  or  three  trials  discouraged 
him.  He  gave  up  pulling,  and  was  never  a  horse 
thereafter.  He  would  not,  under  any  circumstances, 
take  the  bit ;  but  he  would,   under  all  circumstances, 


398  AGRICULTURE  AND   THE   HORSE. 

take  the  whip  without  emotion,  and  with  an  indifference 
a  thousand  times  more  annoying  than  all  his  impetuos- 
ity had  ever  been.  I  do  not  have  pullers  now.  I  break 
my  colts  at  two  years  old,  gently,  easily,  good-natured- 
ly ;  amuse  myself  with  their  coltish  ways ;  never  use  a 
harsh  bit,  no  bar-bit,  no  bit  with  keys  and  toggles,  but 
a  large,  well-covered  snaffle,  which  will  not  chafe  the 
corners  of  the  mouth  as  a  bar  does,  and  which  is  kept 
steady  with  an  easy  bearing-rein.  A  bitting  apparatus 
I  despise,  as  I  do  a  colt  which  has  fussed  and  fretted 
and  champed  and  fumed  until  he  has  fussed  and  fretted 
himself  over  on  to  one  rein.  When  a  colt  has  well 
learned  his  lesson  at  two  years  old,  he  gets  no  more 
education  from  me  until  he  is  four  or  five.  I  never 
knew  one  to  forget  what  he  had  learned,  and  have 
never  yet  had  occasion  to  re-break  one  who  had  been 
allowed  his  two  or  three  years  of  idleness,  liberty,  and 
growth.  I  think  in  this  way  you  avoid  all  violence  in 
training ;  you  do  not  interfere  with  the  colt's  spirits ; 
you  do  not  expose  him  to  wrenches  and  strains ;  and 
you  give  him  a  chance  to  harden  his  muscles  by  free 
exercise  in  the  open  air,  just  at  the  time  when  his  bones 
are  becoming  well  knit,  and  his  nervous  power  strong 
and  enduring. 

As  a  colt  may  be  spoiled  by  over-handling,  so  may 
he  be  ruined  by  over-feeding.  Dr.  Buckingham  of 
Boston,  in  his  admirable  address  read  before  the  Massa- 
chusetts Medical  Society  at  its  last  annual  meeting, 
after   speaking  of  the  reckless  manner  in  which    the 


AGEICULTURB  AND  THE  HOESE.  399 

lives  of  young  children  are  trifled  with  by  the  use  of 
*'  artificial  food,"  when  they  shpuld  be  confined,  as 
nearly  as  possible,  to  the  nourishment  which  Nature 
provides  for  them,  says,  ''  There  the  baby  of  the 
lower  animal  has  the  advantage.  He  is  fed  on  natural 
food  only,  from  the  beginning,  because  his  father  and 
mother  don't  know  enough  to  kill  him.  Man,  the 
reasoning  being,  is  defeated  by  the  animals,  who  pos- 
sess instinct  only.  They  never,  for  amusement  nor 
curiosity,  experiment  upon  the  stomachs  and  lives  of 
their  children,  with  the  desire  of  seeing  how  much 
indigestion  they  will  bear  with  impunity.  I  am  not 
alone  in  the  belief  that  the  excessive  mortality  at  an 
early  period  of  infancy  is,  very  much  of  it,  caused  by 
attempts  to  substitute  for  natural  nourishment  that 
which  will  save  time  and  trouble  to  the  mother,  and  by 
attempts  to  force  growth."  With  Dr.  Buckingham's 
views  of  the  proper  food  for  the  young  of  all  animals 
we  must  all  agree ;  but,  if  he  were  as  familiar  with  the 
"  attempts  to  force  growth  "  in  our  stables  as  he  is  in 
our  nurseries,  I  am  afraid  he  would  hesitate  before 
drawing  an  unqualified  illustration  from  the  former  for 
the  benefit  of  the  latter.  I  agree  that  the  father  and 
mother  of  the  colt  "don't  know  enough  to  kill  him;  " 
but  the  owner  does,  oftentimes,  know  just  enough.  And 
the  same  destruction  which  the  physician  witnesses  with 
distress  and  shame  in  his  practice,  the  farmer  may, 
with  equal  distress  and  shame,  see  in  his  stables ;  in  a 
less  fatal  form,  it  is  true,  but  in  a  form  none  the  less 


400  AGRICULTURE  AND  THE  HORSE. 

disastrous.  You  cannot  easily  kill  a  colt  by  injudicious 
feeding,  I  know;  but  you  can  inflict  injuries  upon  him 
that  are  worse  than  death,  and  give  him  a  prolonged 
life  of  weakness  and  suffering  and  uselessness.  A 
dyspeptic  man  in  the  counting-room,  or  the  pulpit,  or 
the  court-room, — made  a  dyspeptic  by  the  injudicious 
food  of  his  childhood,  or  by  his  own  mature  thought- 
lessness, —  is  an  object  of  deep  compassion,  it  is  true  ; 
but  how  much  more  compassion  should  we  feel  for  the 
animal,  who,  without  human  aspiration  and  ambition  to 
bear  him  above  the  pains  of  his  existence,  has  been  fed 
into  a  weakened  stomach,  and  an  exaggerated  carcass, 
and  nerveless  limbs,  and  tender  feet,  and  unsound 
joints,  and  cribbing,  and  torpor,  and  premature  death ! 
And  this  we  see  continually  among  the  favorite  colts. 
Give  me  the  boys  whose  health  and  strength  are 
derived  from  natural  food  in  infancy,  and  simple  food 
in  youth.  Give  me  the  colts  whose  dams  have  been 
generous,  and  whose  owners  have  been  judicious.  If 
I  have  a  colt  born  late  in  the  season,  say  in  August  or 
September  (which  I  much  prefer  to  spring  and  early 
summer),  I  have  no  trouble  about  the  first  winter.  A 
box-stall,  and  good  food  for  the  marc,  who  is  to  nurse 
her  colt  until  the  following  spring  approaches,  will  take 
me  over  that  first  trying  season,  and  will  prepare  the 
colt  well  for  weaning  and  his  first  summer's  run  at  grass. 
But  if  my  colt  is  to  be  weaned,  as  usual,  when  he 
comes  to  the  barn  in  autumn,  I  must  then  exercise  skill 
and  judgment  in  transferring  him  from  his  infant  life  to 


AGRICULTURE  AND   THE   HORSE.  401 

the  days  of  his  childhood.  A  little  milk  from  the  cow 
once  a  day  for  a  few  days,  and  a  pint,  or  thereabouts, 
of  oats  and  shorts,  with  rowen  or  fine  hay,  a  mixture  of 
red- top  and  herds-grass,  will  carry  him  over  the  trials 
of  being  separated  from  his  dam.  But  all  this  must 
cease  as  soon  as  possible  ;  and  that  diet  of  good  hay  and 
roots,  which  is  to  serve  him  until  put  upon  the  road, 
must  be  commenced.  I  have  known  many  a  colt 
ruined  by  heavy  feed  this  first  winter.  It  is  pleasant  to 
see  his  glossy  coat  and  lively  head  and  mature  neck, 
and  well-developed  form  under  a  good  supply  of  oats, 
''with  just  a  little  cracked  corn."  But  all  this  pleasure 
will  vanish  if  you  look  carefully  at  those  knees,  which 
tremble  a  little  after  exercise ;  and  it  will  still  more  en- 
tirely vanish  if  you  will  examine  him  after  his  summer's 
run  at  grass,  and  wonder  why  he  looks  no  better,  and  has 
not  grown  more.  "  It  has  been  a  bad  season  for  colts," 
you  say.  But  no:  the  season  has  been  good  enough 
for  those  young  things  which  wintered  well  in  a  box 
and  a  barn-yard,  had  simple  food,  were  kept  healthy  and 
thriving,  and  went  out  in  the  spring  a  little  ragged,  it 
is  true,  and  not  over-fat,  but  as  hardy  as  cold  air  and 
good  appetites  could  make  them.  The  season  has  been 
good  enough  for  these.  I  have  said,  good  hay  and  roots : 
and  by  roots  I  do  not  mean  carrots,  —  the  most  unsatis- 
factory root  that  horse,  young  or  old,  can  eat,  producing 
an  unhealthy  state  of  the  skin  and  kidneys,  overloading 
the  cellular  tissues  with  fat,  and  making  a  horse  as 
washy  as  a  lather-brush ;  but  I  mean  Swedish  turnips, 


402  AGRICULTURE  AND   THE  HORSE. 

rutabagas,  —  the  king  of  roots  for  all  young  animals 
which  are  making  bone  and  muscle,  and  for  all  old  ones 
which  are  being  stalled.  I  have  long  since  abandoned 
carrots.  Having  become  dissatisfied  with  them,  either 
for  my  colts  or  my  driving-horses,  I  looked  about  for 
a  substitute ;  and  learning,  from  a  report  on  Farming  in 
Ireland,  that  in  the  early  spring,  when  the  farmers  there 
began  to  plough,  they  also  began  to  feed  Swedes  to  their 
horses  which  were  to  draw  the  plough,  I  took  the  hint. 
I  do  not  ask  others  to  follow  my  example ;  but  I  am 
under  everlasting  obligations  to  the  Irishman  for  his, 
and  to  the  observer  who  recorded  it.  I  have  many 
colts  that  have  never  eaten  a  mouthful  of  grain  until 
four  years  old,  and  many  a  horse  who  has  wintered  on 
hay  and  turnips,  and  always  wintered  well.  I  know 
nothing  which  will  restore  a  colt  in  early  winter,  if  he 
comes  to  the  barn  out  of  condition,  and  begins  to 
droop  and  stock  as  soon  as  he  is  confined  to  the  stable, 
so  readily  and  effectually  as  Swedes.  I  can  drive  my 
old  horses  in  winter,  when  fed  on  them,  an  occasional 
drive,  as  well  as  I  can  when  fed  on  corn.  I  can  pre- 
serve their  legs  in  good  condition,  and  their  health  in 
a  sound  state,  year  after  year,  on  this  food.  And  I  am 
sure,  that,  while  I  can  bring  a  colt  to  a  working-age  with 
hay  and  turnips  better  than  with  any  thing  else,  I  can 
also  secure  to  myself  a  good,  hard,  lively  winter  horse, 
and  to  the  horse  himself  a  lons^cr  and  more  useful  and 
comfortable  life.  Turnips  are  economically  raised:  they 
make  bone  and  muscle ;  they  keep  the  digestive  organa 


AGEICULTUKE  AND  THE   HORSE.  403 

in  good  condition  ;  they  impart  vigor  to  the  nervous  sys- 
tem. If  you  are  told  that  your  colt  or  your  horse  will 
not  eat  them,  let  me  tell  you  that  an  animal  that  will 
learn  any  thing  will  soon  learn  to  like  them.  Hay  and 
turnips  and  good  pasturage  for  colts ;  hay  and  turnips 
for  the  winter-food  of  resting-horses.  And  if  you  do 
not  believe  that  heavy  feed  during  the  first  winter  will 
injure  a  colt,  ay,  during  the  first  three  winters  of  his  life, 
go  and  buy  one  that  has  been  thus  fed ;  and  in  this  way 
pay  for  your  knowledge,  as  I  have  paid  for  mine.  Breed 
a  good  colt,  and  have  him  fade  out  on  your  hands  about 
the  fourth  winter,  if  not  the  first  summer-,  on  account  of 
your  stufl&ng  process,  as  I  have  myself  done.  Go  and 
ask  Ethan  Allen,  and  hundreds  of  his  descendants  who 
went  through  this  enervating  process ;  go  and  ask  the  fat 
and  favorite  colts  who  are  passing  their  hot-bed  lives 
in  the  good-looking  stables  which  are  multiplying 
everywhere ;  go  and  ask  the  thousands  of  English  thor- 
ough-breds  who  are  hobbling  about,  ruined  by  forced 
growth,  and  forced  efforts,  and  hot  food,  ere  their  lives 
had  fairly  begun ;  and  see  what  an  answer  you  will  get. 
They  will  all  tell  you,  that  all  the  muscle  the  horse 
makes  after  he  is  four  years  old  is  worth  vastly  more 
than  what  he  makes  before  that  time ;  that  all  the  fat 
a  colt  loads  upon  himself  before  he  is  four  years  old, 
and  perhaps  five,  is  an  injury  to  him ;  that  the  life  is 
shortened,  and  the  powers  weakened,  by  early  feed 
and  early  work ;  that  the  breeder  of  a  good  horse  must 
be  patient ;  that  if  you  will  feed  for  early  maturity,  and 


404  AGRICULTURE  AND   THE  HORSE. 

drive  for  early  speed,  you  must  expect  to  lose  a  large 
part  of  the  ultimate  value  of  your  horse,  —  a  few  years 
of  life,  a  few  seconds  of  speed  on  the  track.  Precocity 
is  a  poor  thing :  that  alone  endures  which  ripens  slowly. 
The  wisdom  of  human  maturity  is  the  best  wisdom,  — 
that  maturity  which  comes  from  the  steady  and  legiti- 
mate development  of  all  human  powers.  That  speed 
and  endurance  are  the  greatest  which  are  not  called 
for  until  the  horse  is  in  full  possession  of  all  his  facul- 
ties. An  American  man,  dependent  on  himself  for  all 
he  is  and  is  to  be,  fit  for  all  the  duties  which  may  de- 
volve upon  him,  will  not  grow  up  in  a  day.  An  Amer- 
ican horse  of  all  work,  destined  to  toil  like  a  locomo- 
tive, and  expected  to  travel  like  one,  wants  time  to 
develop  himself  for  his  tremendous  service.  It  takes  a 
great  while  to  make  a  man,  a  trotting-horse,  and  an 
Ayrshire  cow.  Spruce-wood,  Short-horn  beef.  Western, 
corn-fed  horse-flesh,  all  grow  apace ;  but  they  do  not 
stand  high  in  the  scale,  and  they  do  not  endure  unto 
the  end. 

But,  sir,  the  folly  of  bad  feeding  is  no  greater  than 
the  folly  of  bad  stabling.  The  practice  of  providing 
warm  and  tightly-built  stables  for  young  colts  is  as  in- 
jurious to  them  as  forcing  their  growth  by  heavy 
feed.  A  colt  requires  fresh  air ;  and,  if  he  is  furnished 
with  an  opportunity,  he  will  be  sure  to  get  it.  His  lungs 
are  the  largest  part  of  his  internal  organs;  and  he  will 
provide  for  them,  if  there  is  any  way  to  do  it.  Give 
him  the  best  and  warmest  box  in  the  world,  and  he  will 


AGRICULTURE  AND   THE  HORSE.  405 

leave  it  for  the  invigorating  influences  of  the  northern 
blasts  in  winter,    and  for  the   cooling  and  indurating 
effects  of  a  coating  of  snow  and  hail.     He  seems  to 
understand  by  instinct,  that  if  he  confines  himself  to  the 
hot  air  of  an  elaborate,  well-finished,  model  stable,  his 
-  energies  will  wilt  and  fade.     He  seems  to  know  that  a 
glossy,  shining  coat  is  to  him  a  sort  of  white  wall  of  a 
whited  sepulchre, — pleasing  without,  but  within  full  of 
all  equine  disabilities ;    and  so  he  only  asks  for  room 
to  stretch  his  growing  limbs,  and  a  roof  sufficient  to 
shield  him  from  the  storm,  undisturbed  if  he  should  see 
a  star  through  the  crevice  above  him,  and  feel  the  fresh 
breeze  whistling  through  a  crack  by  his  side.     He  wants 
a  well-ventilated  stable,  and  a  chance  to  get  out  of  it 
whenever  he  has  a  desire  to  do  so.     And,  above  all 
things,  let  him  stand  on  the  ground,  if  possible,  while  in 
his  box ;  and,  at  any  rate,  in  a  yard  into  which  his  box 
opens.    A  floor,  especially  a  wooden  floor,  is  bad  enough 
for  a  mature  working-horse ;  but  to  a  colt  it  is  almost 
destruction.     I  have  no  shadow  of  doubt  that  we  ruin 
thousands  of  horses'  feet  in  this  country  by  our  plank- 
floors.     The  wood,  when  dry,  is  a  non-conductor  of  heat, 
and  tends  to  keep  the  hoof  above  its  natural  temperature, 
and  to  remove  from  it  all  its  natural  moisture ;  and,  when 
wet,  it  has  a  tendency  to  rise  above  the  surrounding  tem- 
perature by  fermentation.     Wet  or  dry,  therefore,  wood, 
whether  in  the  form  of  a  plank-floor  or  of  sawdust- 
bedding,  is  very  injurious  to  the  horse's  foot.     And  so 
thoroughly  convinced  of  this  am  I,  that  I  always  pro- 


406  AGRICULTUBE  AND  THE  HORSE. 

vide  brick  floors  for  all  that  portion  of  the  stall  which 
is  occupied  by  the  horse's  fore-feet,  —  a  practice  which 
has,  with  the  aid  of  tar-ointment,  protected  me,  for 
more  than  twenty  years  of  hard  driving  on  hard  roads, 
from  sore-toed  horses,  and  has  sent  out  of  my  stables  a 
foot  which  every  farrier  in  town  recognizes  the  in- 
stant he  puts  his  buttrice  into  it.  For  the  feet,  then, 
of  the  colt  and  the  idle  horse,  furnish  the  earth  as 
a  standing-place  :  for  the  feet  of  the  working-horse, 
furnish  a  brick  or  stone  floor.  By  such  a  floor  alone 
can  you  secure  to  your  colt  a  good  foot ;  and  in  this 
way  alone,  moreover,  can  you  be  sure  of  giving  him  a 
good  leg,  a  well-shaped  ankle,  and  a  firm  and  substan- 
tial knee.  I  know  not  how  it  is ;  but  the  misshapen 
ankles  and  shaky  knees  which  come  out  of  hot  stables 
with  wooden  floors  among  the  colts  which  have  wintered 
there  constitute  one  of  the  peculiar  phenomena  of  the 
business  of  rearing  these  animals.  But  so  it  is;  and 
I  urge  upon  you  all,  whether  you  like  horses  or  not, 
whether  you  fear  or  trust  them,  to  give  them  the  soUd 
ground  to  stand  on,  whenever  it  is  practicable,  in  their 
youth,  and  any  thing  but  wood  in  their  days  of  matu- 
rity and  toil. 

So  important  do  I  consider  this  matter  of  floors,  that 
I  pass  by  all  the  feeding  arrangements  of  the  stall, 
whether  for  hay  or  grain,  as  of  secondary  consideration. 
I  think  it  is  a  poor  plan,  however,  to  compel  a  colt  to 
put  his  head  through  a  hole  in  order  to  get  at  his  food, 
or  to  thrust  it  under  a  low  beam,  or  to  drag  his  hay 


AGRICULTURE   AND   THE  HORSE.  407 

through  a  narrow  rack.  A  feed-box,  so  constructed  as 
not  to  furnish  an  opportunity  for  cribbing  and  biting, 
elevated  not  much  above  the  stall-floor,  and  easily 
cleaned,  is  the  best  contrivance  I  have  seen. 

I  take  it  for  granted  that  no  man  will  compel  his  colt 
to  stand  on  a  manure-heap,  unless  he  wishes  to  injure 
his  feet ;  and  that  the  stall  will  be  kept  as  clean  as  time 
and  circumstances  will  allow. 

But  you  will  say  to  me,  —  those  of  you  who  are  espe- 
cially anxious  to  place  the  horse  in  as  unfavorable  a 
light  as  possible,  and  to  cool  the  enthusiasm  of  his 
friends,  — that,  in  spite  of  all  your  care  and  attention,  the 
animal  will  be  sick  and  unsound.  I  know  it.  But  let 
me  tell  you  that  he  need  not  be  sick  half  as  much  as 
he  is,  nor  unsound  half  as  often,  if  proper  measures 
are  taken  to  preserve  his  health,  and  to  prevent  and 
cure  his  unsoundness. 

With  regard  to  his  health,  it  is  easier  to  preserve  it 
than  it  is  to  restore  it.  The  natural  condition  of  the 
horse  is  one  of  robust  health,  of  good  digestion,  of 
strong  respiratory  organs,  of  calm  and  even  circulation. 
He  has  no  especial  tendency  to  those  diseases  which 
torment  the  human  race,  and  lurk  in  our  swamps  and 
cellars  and  water-springs,  and  crowded  habitations,  and 
thronged  cities.  A  few  epidemics  peculiar  to  himself, 
and  one  or  two  inflammatory  disorders,  constitute  the 
great  bulk  of  his  ailments.  And  yet  the  loss  of  horses  by 
disease  is  enormous.  What  the  precise  character  of  the 
disease  is,  its  symptoms,  its  local  complications,  its  pre- 


408  AGRICULTURE  AND   THE  HOESE. 

monitions,  the  exact  time  and  extent  of  convales- 
cence, it  is  difficult  to  ascertain ;  for  tlie  horse  has  no 
story  to  tell.  He  is  dumb  under  suffering,  and  can 
point  out  to  no  man  the  locality  of  his  distress.  How 
keen  his  agony  is,  no  one  can  understand ;  for  he  bears 
with  apparent  insensibility  crushing  accidents  which 
would  paralyze  his  master,  or  leave  him  writhing  in 
unspeakable  agony.  The  effect,  also,  of  remedial  agents 
upon  the  horse,  is  a  matter  extremely  difficult  to  inves- 
tigate. We  apply  them :  the  relief  comes ;  and  we  are 
too  glad  to  trace  it  to  our  own  efforts.  But  the  veil  is 
still  drawn,  and  the  mystery  is  as  impenetrable  as  ever. 
I  do  not  for  a  moment  mean  to  doubt  that  soap  and 
aloes,  singly  or  combined,  that  opium,  and  saltpetre,  and 
rosin,  and  ginger,  and  yellow-bark,  and  carbonate  of 
ammonia,  and  sal-prunella,  and  oil  of  juniper,  and  cam- 
phor, and  mustard,  and  oil  of  turpentine,  and  calomel, 
and  digitalis,  and  belladonna,  and  Colombo,  and  cassia, 
and  rhubarb,  will  cure  anasarca,  and  fevers  of  various 
kinds,  and  perhaps  check  glanders  and  farcy ;  because  I 
am  told  so  every  day  by  those  whose  business  it  is  to 
administer  all  these  powerful  medicinal  agents.  But  I 
do  know,  that,  in  the  human  subject,  such  a  pharmaco- 
poeia has  lost  its  ancient  charm ;  and  an  intelligent  as- 
sistance of  Nature  is  now  considered  as  important  as 
the  heroic  treatment  adopted  by  our  ancestors.  And 
I  think  I  know  one  thing  more  ;  and  that  is,  that  often- 
times the  difficulties  created  by  medicine  itself  are  as 
hard  to  overcome  as  the  disease  it  is  proposed  to  re- 


AGRICULTURE  AJSD   THE  HORSE.  409 

move  by  their  use.  I  heard  my  family  physician  say 
once,  when  my  son  John  was  lying  ill  of  typhoid-fever, 
''Watch  him,  and  keep  him  comfortable.  The  chances 
are  that  Nature  will  work  herself  out  of  the  trouble  with 
but  little  aid  of  ours :  if  so,  the  convalescence  will  be 
rapid  and  steady.  But  if  we  must  help  Nature,  why,  we 
must ;  but  we  shall  have  to  cure  the  disease  we  create 
in  that  event,  as  well  as  the  one  we  now  have."  Some 
medical  man  once  told  me  that  medicines  generally  sub- 
stitute  one  disease  for  another ;  and,  as  Nature  cannot 
well  do  two  things  at  the  same  time,  we  may  turn  her 
attention  from  what  is  unmanageable  to  what  is  easily 
controlled.  I  think  there  is  something  in  this ;  for  1 
can  readily  understand  that  the  condition  of  body  pro- 
duced by  mercury,  and  iodide  of  potassium,  and  opium, 
and  digitalis,  and  quinine,  is  as  much  a  disease  as  rheu- 
matism and  colic,  and  palpitation  of  the  heart,  and  fever 
and  ague.  This  a  man  can  undoubtedly  bear,  if  he  can 
only  move  about  his  business  or  his  pleasure.  But  a 
horse  cannot.  He  must  be  "  pretty  well,"  or  his  machine 
will  not  work.  He  is,  moreover,  very  easily  affected  by 
medicine.  His  system  feels  it  much  more  readily  than 
does  that  of  man ;  and  he  cannot  throw  off  its  effects  as 
rapidly  as  man  can.  I  gave  a  horse  some  small  doses 
of  antimony,  many  years  ago,  to  give  him  a  glossy  coat ; 
and  he  was  nearly  a  year  recovering  from  the  evidently 
prostrating  influence  of  the  drug.  So  I  am  of  the 
opinion  that  we  should  avoid  dosing  our  horses  as  much 
as  possible.     I  should  recommend  early  attention  to  the 


410  AGRICULTUHE   AND   THE   HORSE. 

first  appearance  of  illness,  with  care,  warmth,  shelter, 
starvation,  and  cold  water.  I  have  never  lost  a  horse 
in  my  stable  from  disease.  No  sooner  does  a  horse  show 
signs  of  sickness  there  than  his  work  is  stopped,  his 
food  reduced,  he  has  repose,  and  a  wet  sheet  if  necessary. 
But  among  my  working  farm-horses  I  have  had  several 
fatal  cases  of  disease,  which  were  neglected  or  unob- 
served until  past  cure.  Do  not  try  to  work  a  sick 
horse :  believe  that  he  is  really  sick  in  season.  Do  not 
try  to  persuade  yourself  that  he  will  get  along ;  but 
nurse  him  promptly  and  well  in  a  well-ventilated  stable. 
But  as  I  have  said,  sir,  you  can  prevent  disease  more 
easily  than  you  can  cure  it.  There  is  no  doubt  that 
the  annual  loss  of  horses  by  death  is  more  a  cause  of  the 
hazards  and  risks  of  the  horse-business  than  the  uncer- 
tainties and  fluctuations  of  the  market.  Even  a  fortunate 
hit,  made  by  discovering  an  unexpectedly  valuable  horse 
in  a  large  number  purchased,  will  not  compensate  for 
the  money  sunk  in  this  way.  A  very  large  proportion 
of  the  deaths  which  occur  among  horses  is  in  crowded 
cities,  where  they  work  and  accumulate  to  supply 
the  market.  And  are  you  surprised  at  this  ?  Go  with 
me,  if  you  are,  some  morning  about  the  middle  of  April, 
when  the  sale-stables  are  full,  and  see  if  you  cannot 
account  for  the  destruction  of  horse-life  which  is  so 
disastrous,  and  so  supinely  deplored.  In  the  long 
rows  of  stalls  stand  the  patient  victims  of  man's  cupidity 
and  thoughtlessness,  waiting  to  be  transferred  to  the 
scenes  of  their  labors.     They  have  come  flocking  in  from 


AGRICULTURE  AND  THE  HORSE.  411 

the  fresh  air  of  their  native  hills,  from  the  sweet  hay- 
mows and  airy  stables  of  their  rnral  homes,  from  the 
repose  of  a  farm  and  the  untainted  freshness  of  country 
life.  They  have  suddenly  been  brought  from  all  this 
healthy  and  invigorating  existence  to  the  heat  and 
tumult,  and  stifling  air,  and  musty  hay,  and  heated 
corn,  and  poisoned  water,  of  a  crowded,  ill-ventilated, 
smothering  stable.  Pricked  hourly  out  of  that  torpor 
into  which  such  influences  throw  them,  and  goaded 
into  a  sort  of  feeble  animation  to  attract  a  customer, 
put  to  the  utmost  stretch  again  and  again  "for  the 
sake  of  a  trade,"  is  it  surprising  that  they  should  lose 
their  balance  and  their  health,  and  become  a  prey  to 
every  variety  of  inflammatory  disease  known  to  veteri- 
nary practice?  These  poor  dumb  victims  are  com- 
pelled to  live  where  man  would  perish,  and  are  ex- 
pected to  retain  their  energies  where  he  would  faint  and 
fall.  Now,  in  the  name  of  humanity  and  ordinary  com- 
mercial thrift  and  sagacity,  let  this  be  stopped.  There 
is  no  reason  why  sale-stables  should  be  horse-hells ;  no 
reason  why  they  should  vie  with  the  Black  Hole  in  their 
inevitable  cruelty  and  destruction  and  gloom.  These, 
and  city  stables  generally,  except  those  belonging  to 
private  gentlemen,  and  here  and  there  a  livery,  are  a 
disgrace  and  a  shame  to  a  civilized  community.  So  long 
as  they  continue  as  they  now  are,  horses  must  die.  There 
^re  no  remedies  for  the  sudden  and  violent  diseases 
which  will  attend  such  poisonous  air  and  water  and 
food.     The  remedy  lies  in  providing  ample  and  well- 


412  AGRICULTURE  AND  THE  HORSE. 

ventilated  stables,  —  stables  well  lighted,  with  stalls 
of  ample  dimensions,  with  escape-pipes  for  the  ammo- 
niacal  effluvia  which  arise  from  so  many  animals  and 
their  excretions,  with  more  room  for  evaporation,  and 
then  the  chances  would  no  longer  be  against  every 
horse  who  passes  through  those  doors,  as  they  were 
against  those  ghostly  ones  who  passed  through  Dante's 
gate,  and,  as  they  went  in,  read  above  their  heads,  — 

"Per  me  si  va  in  eterno  dolore." 
"Who  passes  here  goes  into  everlasting  hell." 

Improve  the  stables,  then,  and  prevent  disease.  Give 
the  young  horses  more  and  better  food,  —  more  sweet 
hay,  and  less  sour  grain.  In  all  the  stables,  public  and 
IDrivate,  give  them  better  air,  broader  stalls,  cleaner 
feed-boxes,  better  floors,  and  fewer  stenches.  Do  not 
insult  a  respectable  animal  who  has  come  down  from 
the  country  to  do  his  share  of  the  work  of  the  world, 
and  has  brought  with  him  the  memory  of  the  sweet 
hills  and  skies  at  least,  by  immuring  him  in  one  of  those 
cramped,  rickety,  rotten,  stinking,  slovenly,  damp  dun- 
geons, where  a  dumb  beast  would  lose  his  breath,  and 
his  self-respect,  and  his  courage,  beneath  an  oppressive 
weight  of  miasmas,  and  hideous,  gloomy,  nasty  confu- 
sion. Stop  this,  or  pray  that  horses  may  die  ere  the 
evil  days  come. 

But,  sir,  I  shall  be  reminded,  I  am  sure,  of  that  unfor- 
tunate and  trying  tendency  of  almost  every  horse,  how- 
ever well  he  may  be  cared  for,  to  become  more  or  less 


AGRICULTURE  AND  THE  HORSE.  413 

unsound.  I  know  this  is  so.  The  horse  has,  partly  by 
an  inheritance  of  defects  which  are  very  apt  to  attend 
a  delicate  organization,  and  partly  through  the  abuse  to 
which  he  is  subjected  from  his  youth  upwards,  a  lia- 
bility to  break  down  in  many  points  where  it  would 
seem  as  if  Nature  should  have  guarded  and  strengthened 
him  with  peculiar  care.  That  he  becomes  spavined  and 
ring-boned  and  curbed  and  splinted  and  broken-winded 
ajid  sore-toed,  I  will  not  deny.  But  all  these  seem  to 
me  to  grow  out  of  man's  determination  to  sppil  his 
horse ;  for  when  we  remember  that  the  horse's  foot  is 
the  strongest  structure  of  the  kind  in  all  the  animal 
kingdom,  and  that  his  hock  is  the  most  ingeniously 
packed  and  contrived,  and  his  fore-leg  the  best  con- 
structed to  receive  a  blow,  and  his  pasterns  the  finest 
combination  of  elasticity  and  strength,  and  his  lungs  the 
largest  and  most  capacious,  we  can  understand  what 
long  generations  of  hardship  and  misuse  he  must  have 
passed  through  to  bring  upon  each  one  of  these  impor- 
tant and  naturally  powerful  organs  a  peculiar  dispo- 
sition to  break  down.  If  you  were  to  examine  a  horse 
for  the  first  time,  you  would  say,  "  That  foot  cannot  fail, 
no  matter  how  hard  the  road ;  that  pastern  will  not 
give  out ;  that  hock-joint  will  not  yield  to  the  hardest 
strains ;  those  lungs  will  endure  through  all  long  and 
severe  driving  on  road  or  track."  And  the  fact  that 
they  do  fail,  and  have  so  long  failed,  that  they  are 
liable  to  congenital  maleformation,  is  merely  a  proof  that 
no  machine  could  be  subjected  to  such  strain  as  falls 


414  AGRICULTUIIE  AND  THE  HORSE. 

upon  the  horse,  without  breaking ;  no  animal  organiza- 
tion could  possibly  endure  it  without  serious,  almost 
incalculable,  injury.  It  is  useless,  therefore,  to  close 
our  eyes  to  this  natural  and  artificial  defect  in  the 
horse ;  and,  bearing  in  mind  that  he  has  been  brought 
to  this  condition  by  his  hard  service  for  *man,  it  seems 
to  me,  that,  instead  of  condemning  him  for  his  weak- 
ness, we  ought  to  help  him  out  of  his  trouble. 

For  one,  sir,  I  do  not  condemn  a  horse  on  account 
of  unsoundness  until  I  am  satisfied  that  he  has  got  be- 
yond an  alleviating  remedy,  and  has  become  useless. 
I  think  one  of  the  most  touching  sights  in  the  world 
is  a  lame  or  disabled  horse  engaged  in  his  daily  toil. 
I  realize  how  he  came  to  this  painful  condition;  and  I 
feel  that  I  am  under  a  sort  of  sacred  obligation  to  bear 
patiently  and  generously  the  defects  of  my  own  faithful 
servant.  So  I  am  always  slow  to  condemn  a  horse  for 
unsoundness:  in  the  first  place,  on  account  of  my  charity 
for  him  ;  in  the  next  place,  because  nearly  every  horse 
has  some  defect,  of  more  or  less  importance,  which  one 
must  bear  and  excuse  ;  and,  lastly,  because,  taken  in 
season,  and  properly  treated,  almost  every  form  of  un- 
soundness can  be  alleviated,  and  virtually  removed  for 
all  practical  purposes.  It  is  idle  to  expect  Nature,  un- 
unassisted,  to  cure  unsoundness;  and  it  is  useless  to 
hope  to  remove  it  in  any  form  by  neglect.^  It  is  neither 
wise  nor  humane,  cither  to  shut  your  eyes  to  the  first 
approaches  of  the  local  difiiculty,  or  to  delay  your  atten- 
tion to  it  when  discovered,  in  the  hope  that  somehow 


AGRICULTURE   AND   THE  HORSE.  415 

the  horse  himself  will  find  his  way  out.  I  hardly  know 
any  calamity,  large  or  small,  in  which  delay  is  so  tempt- 
ing, and  hope  so  strong,  as  the  misfortunes  which  befall 
our  favorite  horses,  and  that  special  colt  so  full  of 
promise. 

If  your  horse  is  lame,  then,  realize  the  fact  as  quickly 
as  possible,  and  attend  to  it.  Locate  the  lameness 
where  it  manifestly  is,  or  where  it  is  most  likely  to  be, 
even  if  there  is  a  hopelessness  about  it ;  and  allow  no 
friend  or  surgeon  to  flatter  you  with  the  suggestion  that 
the  trouble  is  temporary,  trivial,  confined  to  some  com- 
paratively unimportant  point,  and,  in  your  horse  at 
least,  is  not  what  it  would  be  in  every  other  horse  about 
you.  If  the  lameness  is  "  forward,"  you  may,  in  nine 
cases  out  of  ten,  infer  that  the  trouble  is  in  the  foot,  un- 
less you  can  discover  some  manifest  enlargement  of  the 
bones  or  sinews.  Shoulders  are  seldom'  lame.  It  is  the 
foot  which  is  most  exposed  :  it  is  the  foot  which  is  most 
affected  by  the  action  of  the  shoulder  and  leg  above  it ; 
so  that  many  wise  observers  have  insisted  upon  it  that 
any  foot  will  stand,  if  rightly  managed  by  the  muscles 
which  move  it :  and  it  is  the  foot  whose  diseases  are  most 
difficult  to  cure.  There  is  no  lameness  so  perplexing, 
annoying,  and  discouraging.  It  puts  an  end  very  effect- 
ually to  a  horse's  fast  work,  and  enrolls  his  name  among 
the  slow  movers  on  the  farm  or  in  the  family-carriage. 
Rest,  cold  water,  Miles's  tar-ointment  (to  stimulate  the 
growth  around  the  coronet),  a  cool  brick  floor,  with 
perhaps  a  blister  or  two,  will  almost  always  relieve  the 


416  AGRICULTURE   AND   THE  HORSE. 

early  stages  of  the. disease,  and  give  the  horse  comfort, 
and  ability  to  discharge  well  the  service  of  a  quiet  life. 
But  laminitis  and  navicular  disease  do  not  surrender  so 
easily,  and  are  as  troublesome  as  the  gout  when  they 
find  their  way  into  the  luxurious  horse-circles,  —  those 
circles  in  which  they  are  most  usually  found. 

So,  too,  of  ring-bone  and  spavin.  More  conspicuous 
than  diseases  of  the  foot,  they  are  more  easily  managed. 
I  would  never  resign  a  promising  young  horse  on  ac- 
count of  the  appearance  of  these  diseases ;  and  I  would 
never  neglect  them  until  they  were  past  relief  I  once 
removed  from  the  pasterns  of  a  likely  two-year-old,  by 
a  couple  of  blisterings,  what  I  was  told  in  mild  phrase 
were  "spreads,"  but  what,  had  they  been  let  alone, 
would  have  been  nugbones  in  all  their  deformity  ;  and 
so  effectually  did  I  remove  them,  that,  at  four  years  old, 
the  enlargements  were  not  visible,  except  on  the  most 
careful  inspection.  Two  of  the  best  horses  I  ever  bred, 
two  of  the  best  that  anybody  ever  bred,  became  dis- 
eased in  their  hocks  at  four  years  old,  and  were  threat- 
ened with  incurable  lameness.  They  were  too  good  to 
be  wasted.  I  could  not  bear  the  thought  of  their 
being  cripples  for  life.  They  were  fired  and  blistered  as 
soon  as  the  spavin  manifested  itself;  were  given  a  year's 
run  at  grass  and  in  the  winter-yard ;  and  have  done  con- 
stant work  on  the  road  from  that  day  to  this,  without 
the  slightest  appearance  of  even  stiffness  in  their  joints. 
I  do  not  think  their  speed,  even  (and  they  both  have 
a  great  deal  of  it),  has  been  reduced  a  particle.     I  am 


AGRICITLTITRE  AND  THE   HORSE.  417 

aware  that  the  loss  of  six  months  or  a  year  in  the  work- 
ing-time of  a  horse  is  a  serious  matter  for  most  men 
who  use  horses.  But,  to  such  as  work  them  simply  for 
what  they  can  earn,  this  remedy  is  cheaper  than  the 
ultimate  loss  of  the  animal  altogether ;  and,  to  those 
who  are  breeding  and  preparing  them  for  the  market, 
it  must  be  economy  to  take  hold  of  these  defects  in 
season,  and  treat  them  promptly  and  summarily.  Hardly 
a  local  disease  can  be  named  which  will  not  yield  to  this 
summary  process,  and  rest.  If  there  is  any  check  to 
be  put  to  cribbing,  for  instance,  —  that  most  mysterious 
and  unaccountable  of  all  diseases  of  horses,  a  diseased 
habit  which  is  often  acquired,  and  which  I  have  seen  in- 
herited, —  it  is  by  instantly  removing  every  object  which 
can  be  seized  with  the  teeth,  and  by  regulating  the  food. 
So,  too,  of  swelled  legs,  scratches,  corns,  false-quarter, 
thrush,  and  other  difficulties  which  arise  from  neglecting 
either  the  general  condition  of  the  horse,  or  from  inju- 
dicious use.  Into  the  intricacies  of  veterinary  practice 
I  have  no  idea  of  entering ;  nor  do  I  propose  to  give  an 
elaborate  description  of  diseases  for  the  gratification  of 
curiosity  or  the  inculcation  of  science.  I  can  only 
suggest  the  fundamental  principles  of  dealing  with  the 
ills  to  which  the  horse  is  heir,  —  principles  which,  if 
adopted,  will  insure  economy  to  the  master,  and  comfort 
to  the  animal,  and  the  neglect  of  which  may  lead  to  an 
endless  train  of  expensive  surgical  experiments,  and 
complicated  and  incurable  disorders. 

And  now,  Mr.   Chairman,  it  is   time  that  I  should 

27 


418  AGRICULTURE  AND   THE  HORSE. 

bring  mj  remarks  to  a  close.  I  might  say  much  upon 
the  structure  of  the  stable ;  but  I  trust  the  hints  I  have 
dropped  on  this  topic,  as  I  have  dealt  with  others,  will 
answer  the  purpose  at  this  time.  I  should  like  to  discuss 
the  subject  of  shoeing :  but  I  am  aware  how  much  has 
been  said,  and  how  little  taught,  on  this  matter  already ; 
and  I  should  be  sorry  to  add  my  share  to  the  stock  of 
speculation  already  existing,  and  which,  when  we  con- 
sider the  thousands  of  horses  who  wear  the  various 
shoes  designed  by  Turk  and  Arab  and  Italian  and  Rus- 
sian and  Frenchman  and  Englishmen  and  American, 
must  be  largely  mere  speculation ;  otherwise  myriads  of 
horses  would  be  unable  to  stand  or  step.  It  has  been 
my  special  desire  to  satisfy  those  of  you  who  have  lis- 
tened to  me  so  long,  that  the  subject  of  hippology 
needs  no  extravagant  elaboration,  but  is  in  all  its  prin- 
ciples, whether  dealing  with  health  or  disease,  so  sim- 
ple to  a  practical  farmer,  that  no  man  need  err  therein. 
I  am  satisfied  that  it  is  not  half  so  difficult  to  select  a 
good  horse  as  some  suppose,  if  you  will  only  see  ex- 
actly what  is  before  your  eyes,  and  not  allow  yourself 
to  be  misled  either  by  your  own  imagination,  or  by 
the  persuasive  words  of  him,  who,  finding  you  in  want 
of  a  horse,  feels  that  it  is  his  mission  to  see  that  you 
are  speedily  supplied.  I  have  observed  that  the  pur- 
chasers of  horses  deceive  themselves  much  oftener  than 
they  are  deceived  by  the  dealers.  It  requires  no  great 
keenness  to  discover  a  spavin  as  big  as  a  hen's  egg,  or 
a  broken  wind  heaving  the   sides   like   a   blacksmith's 


AGKICULTURE  AND  THE  HOKSE.  419 

bellows,  or  a  disposition  to  shy  at  a  wheelbarrow  or  a 
locomotive,  or  a  dead  and  palpable  lameness :  but  it 
does  require  considerable  judgment  to  discover  the  real 
merit  of  a  horse  when  he  appears  to  be  offered  to  you 
at  a  price  far  less  than  he  cost  on  the  farm  where  he 
was  raised ;  it  requires  a  great  deal  of  self-possession  to 
resist  the  prophetic  story  of  the  speed  which  a  green 
colt    will    undoubtedly  develop    when    he   begins   to 
gather  up  that  stride  which  now  occupies   the  larger 
portion  of  a  wide  street.     It   is  not  easy  for  an   ad- 
mirer of  the  horse  universal,  and  a  careful  student  of 
his  characteristics  and  points,  to  look  at  him  just  as  he 
is  in  his  entire  make-up,  his  tout  ensemble.     The  mind  is 
liable  to  be  occupied  with  one  predominant  point, — 
the  last  point  of  distinction,  most  likely,  which  marked 
the  last   great   trotter.     Ethan   Allen   has   a   splendid 
shoulder ;  and  so  his  admirers  buy  shoulders.    Lady  Suf- 
folk has  a  powerful  and  symmetrical  quarter ;  and  her 
devotees  never  cease  to  dwell  upon  and  deal  in  hind- 
quarters.    A  Knox  head  will  mislead  the  Knox  men; 
a  Fearnaught  loin  will  blind  the  Fearnaught  men.    And 
so,  among  twenty  gentlemen  whom  I  met  buying  horses 
last  spring,  the  only  one  who  got  a  really  good  horse 
was  the  man  who  knew  nothing  about  him,  except  t^at 
he  filled  his  eye.     He  had  no  imaginary  faults  to  reject, 
no  imaginary  virtues  to   admire.      He  knew  no  more 
after  he  had  looked  into  a  horse's  mouth  than  if  he 
had  looked  into  a  coal-scuttle.     He  did .  not  know  the 
difference    between   an   Ethan   Allen   shoulder  and   a 


420  AGRICULTURE   AND   THE   HORSE. 

shoulder  of  lamb,  between  a  Fearnaught  loin  and  a 
loin  of  veal,  between  a  Lady  Suffolk  hind-quarter  and 
a  hind-quarter  of  mutton  :  he  only  knew  what  a  young- 
looking,  vigorous,  strong,  good-driving,  bay  family- 
horse  was,  that  measured  by  a  rod  fifteen  hands  and 
two  inches,  and  weighed  on  the  scales  ten  hundred 
and  fifty  pounds  ;  and  he  bought  him  at  a  price 
which  he  had  fixed  in  his  mind  as  his  horse  investment 
for  this  season,  when  the  spring  opened,  —  the  sum  he 
could  afford  to  spend  in  this  direction.  The  same  kind 
of  level  common  sense  guided  this  man  in  this  most  dif- 
ficult of  all  branches  of  business  —  the  purchasing  of  a 
horse  —  that  makes  a  man  a  statesman,  and  not  a  politi- 
cian ;  a  merchant,  and  not  a  speculator ;  a  jurist,  and  not 
a  pettifogger ;  a  long-lived  orator,  and  not  an  incendiary 
cxhorter;  a  sagacious  general,  and  not  a  military  mar- 
tinet, —  the  same  kind  of  common  sense,  though  per- 
haps less  in  degree,  but  none  the  less  entitled  to  our 
admiration,  inasmuch  as  it  leads  men  to  strike  the  effec- 
tive blow,  and  perform  the  effective  deed,  and  remove 
the  entangling  complications,  which  impracticable  and 
imaginative  gentlemen  are  apt  to  weave  around  prac- 
tical affairs ;  that  common  sense,  which,  while  strong  in 
itsolf,  always  receives  healthy  invigoration  from  the. 
highest  culture  and  the  most  varied  experience. 

Mr.  Chairman,  there  are  a  great  many  horses  in  the 
United  States ;  and  I  am  happy  to  say  that  every  mem- 
ber of  this  family  is  counted  as  a  horse  for  some  pur- 
pose.    By  the  census,  I  learn  that  there  arc  7,145,370 


AGRICULTUKE  AND  THE  HORSE.  421 

horses  in  this  republic, — a  horse  to  about  every  six 
persons,  male  and  female,  old  and  young,  black,  white, 
and  mixed.     There  are   23,820,G08    cattle;    of  which 
number,  8,935,332  are   cows,  1,319,271   are  oxen,  and 
13,566,005  are  called  ofhei^  cattle,  —  an  undefined  dis- 
tinction not  known,   I  am  happy  to  say,   among  the 
horses.      For  this  vast  number  of  horses,  whose  pur- 
pose is  fixed  and  defined,  I  appear  to-night  before  this 
small  body  of  the  founders  of  the  New-England  Agri- 
cultural Society.     Of  their  industrial  and  commercial 
value  it  is  unnecessary  for  me  to  speak  here  among 
those  who  know  what  a  large  portion  of  the  wealth  of 
our  great  grazing-farms  they  represent.     That  they  will 
always  have  advocates,  I  cannot  for  a  moment  doubt. 
Their  history  has  a  charm  which  appeals  at  once  to  the 
farmer's  boy  as  he  sits  by  the  fireside  perusing  his  scanty 
but  appropriate  library.     Their  services  will  always  be 
held  in  high  esteem  by  all  those  who  enjoy  what  is  ener- 
getic and  active  and  progressive  in  life,  and  who  believe 
in  the  superior  importance  of  vigorous  and  manly  effort. 
They  have   already  passed  into  the   literature    of  the 
world ;  standing  by  the  side  of  the  warrior  on  the  bat- 
tle-field ;  bearing  the  monarch  in  his  pride,  the  maiden 
in  her  sweetness  and  grace,  the  lover  in  his  ecstasy  and 
joy ;  adorning  the  triumphal  pageant,  and  solemnizing 
the'mournful  procession.     Of  the  horse  have  poets  sung; 
art  has  immortalized  him ;  science  has  devoted  herself 
to  his  comfort  and  health ;  and  man  has  always  hastened 
to  bestow  upon  him  with  a  liberal  hand  his  lar^^est  and 


422  AGRICULTURE  AND   THE  HORSE. 

most  lavish  bounty.  He  is  intimately  associated  with 
all  those  scenes  and  events  which  make  life  dear  and 
sacred  to  us ;  and,  as  he  has  found  his  eulogists  in  the 
past,  I  doubt  not  that  hereafter  he  will  still  receive  from 
devoted  friends  in  every  walk  in  life  that  tribute  to 
which  he  is  entitled  as  man's  most  brilliant  ally  in  the 
work  of  the  world.  He  has  already  had  a  high  place  as- 
signed him  among  the  objects  which  occupy  and  absorb 
the  minds  of  men ;  and  I  trust  the  day  is  not  far  distant 
when  it  will  be  deemed  worthy  of  some  large-hearted 
and  liberal-minded  messenger  of  the  divine  to  lift  up 
his  voice  for  the  elevation  of  this  noble  animal  into  his 
proper  place,  — above  the  fears  of  the  prudent  and  the 
suspicion  of  the  good,  and  for  the  amelioration  of  all  the 
hardship  of  his  lot.  He  has  done  his  duty  so  well  thus 
far,  that  of  him  it  has  been  said  by  one  of  the  most  bril- 
liant of  the  sons  of  men,  — 

"  Deduct  all  that  has  been  achieved,  directly  or  indi- 
rectly, by  the  aid  of  the  horse,  in  the  way  of  conveyance 
at  home,  from  place  to  place,  for  business  or  recreation  ; 
of  distant  journeyings  before  the  power  of  steam  was 
so  wonderfully  applied  to  the  purposes  of  locomotion ; 
of  the  draught  of  heavy  burdens ;  of  motive-power  con- 
nected with  machinery,  of  agriculture,  and  of  war,  in 
all  countries  and  in  all  ages,  —  deduct  all  that  has  been 
done,  directly  or  indirectly,  in  all  these  respects,  by  the 
aid  of  the  horse,  and  what  a  stupendous  abatement  you 
would  make  from  the  sum  total  of  achievement  and 
progress !  " 


AGRICULTURE  AND  THE  HORSE.  423 

And  now,  sir,  you  will  allow  me,  in  conclusion,  to  re- 
peat an  interesting  and  touching  account  of  the  rela- 
tions which  existed  between  one  of  the  most  illustrious 
of  our  own  race  and  one  of  the  most  fortunate  of  that 
race  for  whose  cause  I  am  now  speaking.  How  well  I 
remember  it  as  it  fell,  not  manj  years  ago,  from  the 
eloquent  lips  of  Edward  Everett !  After  urging  for  the 
horse  persevering  kindness,  and  asking  if  this  would  not 
also  be  beneficial  and  honorable  among  fellow-men  and 
fellow- Christians,  he  said,  — 

''However  this  may  be,  sir,  if  there  is  any  one  who 
doubts  that  the  horse  —  the  animal  that  most  concerns 
us  on  this  occasion — is  susceptible  of  the  kindest  feelings 
of  our  nature,  I  think  he  would  be  convinced  of  his 
error  by  a  most  interesting  anecdote  of  Edmund  Burke. 
In  the  decline  of  Mr.  Burke's  life,  when  he  was  living 
in  retirement  on  his  farm  at  Beaconsfield,  the  rumor 
went  up  to  London  that  he  had  gone  mad  ;  and  the  fact 
that  was  stated  in  support  of  this  rumor  was,  that  he 
went  round  his  park  kissing  the  cows  and  horses.  A 
friend,  a  man  of  rank  and  influence,  hearing  this  story, 
and  deeming  it  of  too  much  importance  to  be  left  un- 
corrected, hastened  down  to  Beaconsfield,  and  sought 
an  interview,  with  the  view  of  ascertaining  the  truth 
of  the  rumor.  He  entered  into  conversation  with  him. 
Mr.  Burke  read  to  him  some  chapters  from  his  '  Letters 
on  a  Regicide  Peace.'  His  friend  immediately  saw, 
that,  though  his  earthly  tenement  was  verging  back  to 
its  native  dust,  the  lamp  of  reason  and  genius  shone 


424  AGRICULTUKE  AND  THE  HOESE. 

with  undiminished  lustre  within.  ,  He  was  accordingly- 
more  than  satisfied  as  to  the  object  of  his  coming  down, 
and,  in  a  private  interview  with  Mrs.  Burke,  told  her 
what  he  had  come  for,  and  received  from  her  this  pa- 
thetic explanation :  — 

"  Mr.  Burke's  only  child,  a  beloved  son,  had,  not  long 
before,  died,  leaving  behind  him  a  favorite  old  horse, 
the  companion  of  his  excursions  of  business  and  pleas- 
ure when  both  were  young  and  vigorous.  This  favor- 
ite animal  was  turned  out  by  Mr.  Burke  the  father  into 
the  park,  with  directions  to  all  his  servants  that  he 
should  in  every  respect  be  treated  as  a  privileged  favor- 
ite. Mr.  Burke  himself,  of  course,  in  his  morning  walks, 
would  often  stop  to  caress  the  favorite  animal.  On  one 
occasion,  as  he  was  taking  his  morning  walk  through  the 
park,  he  perceived  the  poor  old  animal  at  a  distance, 
and  noticed,  in  turn,  that  he  was  recognized  by  him. 
The  horse  drew  nearer  and  nearer  to  Mr.  Burke,  stopped, 
eyed  him  with  a  most  pleading  look  of  recognition, 
which  said,  as  plainly  as  words  could  have  said,  '  I  have 
lost  him  too ; '  and  then  the  poor  dumb  beast  deliberately 
laid  his  head  on  Mr.  Burke's  bosom.  Struck  by  the 
singularity  of  the  occurrence,  moved  by  the  recollec- 
tions of  his  son,  —  whom  he  had  never  ceased  to  mourn 
with  a  grief  that  would  not  be  comforted, —  overwhelmed 
by  the  tenderness  of  the  animal,  expressed  in  the  mute 
eloquence  of  holy  Nature's  universal  language,  the  illus- 
trious statesman  for  a  moment  lost  his  self-possession, 
and,  clasping  his  arms  around  the  neck   of  his   son's 


AGKICULTUKE  AND  THE  HOKSE.  425 

favorite  animal,  lifted  up  that  voice  which  had  filled  the 
arches  of  Westminster  Hall  with  the  noblest  strains  that 
ever  echoed  within  them,  and  wept  aloud. 

"  This  was  seen  and  was  heard  by  the  passers-by ;  and 
the  enemies  of  Burke,  unappeased  by  his  advancing 
years,  by  his  failing  health,  by  his  domestic  sorrow, 
made  it  the  ground  of  a  charge  of  insanity.  'Burke 
has  gone  mad.'  But,  sir,  so  help  me  Heaven,  if  I  were 
called  upon  to  designate  the  event  or  the  period  in 
Burke's,  life  that  would  best  sustain  a  charge  of  insani- 
ty, it  would  not  be  when,  in  a  gush  of  the  holiest  and 
purest  feeling  that  ever  stirred  the  human  heart,  he 
wept  aloud  on  the  neck  of  his  dead  son's  favorite  horse ; 
but  it  would  rather  be  when,  at  the  meridian  of  his 
fame,  when  the  orb  of  his  imperial  genius  rode  highest 
in  the  heavens,  amidst  the  scoffs  of  cringing  courtiers, 
and  the  sneers  of  trading  patriots,  he  abased  his  glorious 
powers  to  the  scramblings  and  squabblings  of  the  day, 
and, 

'  Born  for  tlie  universe,  narrowed  his  mind, 
And  to  party  gave  up  what  was  meant  for  mankind.' " 

Mr.  Chairman,  I  have  done.  If  I  have  occupied 
more  time  than  I  ought,  I  beg  you  to  charge  it  to  the 
subject,  and  not  to  myself  I  am  anxious  that  this 
society  should  do  its  duty  in  every  department  assigned 
it;  and  I  especially  desire  that  it  should  correct,  by 
a  wise  and  judicious  devotion  to  all  the  interests  of  agri- 
culture, any  error  into  which  we  may  have  fallen,  and 
raise  the  entire  industry  to  a  high  and  dignified  plane. 


426  AGKICULTURE  AND   THE  HORSE. 

I  thank  you  for  your  courtesy  in  listening  to  me,  and 
shall  heartily  unite  with  you  in  any  service  to  which 
we  may  be  called  for  the  benefit  of  that  occupation  to 
whose  advancement  this  assembly  is  devoted. 

Mr.  Osgood  sat  down.  The  story  of  Burke  had 
moved  that  little  audience  as  if  the  experience  had 
been  to  each  a  personal  sorrow.  The  horse  had  secured 
his  position  in  the  minds  and  hearts  of  all  present ;  and 
his  status  in  the  New-England  Agricultural  Society  was 
fixed  forever. 

Mr.  Jones,  who  had  listened  through  the  extended 
discourse,  "amazed,"  as  he  was  kind  enough  to  say,  "at 
the  unexpected  outburst  of  wisdom,  wit,  and  pathos," 
which,  during  those  long,  late  hours  of  night,  had 
charmed  himself  and  his  friends,  rose,  extended  his 
hand  to  Mr.  Osgood,  and  cordially  thanked  him  for  all 
that  he  had  said. 

Gen.  Greene  moved  a  vote  of  thanks  for  the  address ; 
adding,  "that  a  copy  be  requested  for  publication." 
The  vote  was  passed  unanimously. 

By  this  time  "his  taper  faded,"  and  the  early  "morn- 
ing gales "  fanned  the  brow  of  Mr.  Osgood  as  he 
strolled  to  his  room  in  the  American  House,  wondering 
how  he  had  made  that  speech,  and  how  in  the  world 
he  was  ever  to  furnish  a  copy  for  publication. 

The  next  day  found  him  at  home  on  his  farm,  wan- 
dering moodily  up  and  down  his  ample  barns,  survey- 
ing his  long  rows  of  well-fed  cattle,  and  turning  now 


AGRICULTURE  AND  THE  HORSE.  427 

and  then  a  somewhat  uneasy  eye  to  his  horses,  who 
had,  until  this  hour,  been  a  source  of  unalloyed  peace 
and  joy  to  him.  In  every  limb  of  theirs  he  saw  that 
speech,  a  copy  of  which  he  was  "to  furnish  for  publi- 
cation." 

The  occasion  was. too  much  for  him.  He  could  get 
no  peace,  until,  as  he  sat  musing  before  the  fire  on  that 
long  winter  evening,  Hstening  to  his  own  thoughts  and 
to  the  busy  clicking  of  Mrs.  Osgood's  knitting-needles, 
he  said,  — 

"  Jerusha,  I  have  made  a  speech." 
"Made  a  what?  "  said  Jerusha. 

"Made  a   speech,  my  dear,"  said  he,  —  "all  about 
horses  ;  and  I  have  agreed  to  furnish  a  copy  of  it  to 
the  New-England  Agricultural  Society  for  publication." 
"Are  you  a-going  to  write  it  out,  John?"  said  Je- 
rusha. 

"No,"  said  he:  "I  can't  do  that.  The  chairman  is 
going  to  write  it  out  for  me.  He  is  a  great  writer, 
they  say." 

"Now,  John,"  said  Jerusha,  looking  a  great  honest 
look  at  him  over  her  spectacles,  "that  will  never  do. 
If  the  chairman  writes  out  that  speech  in  his  own  lan- 
guage, say  so  like  a  man,  either  at  the  beginning,  or 
middle,  or  end  of  the  book." 

John's  countenance  fell.  But  there  it  was  recorded, 
and  there  it  may  be  found,  —  "  Revised  and  written  out 
by  the  Chairman;  "  and  Jerusha  is  content. 


MY  OBLIGATIONS. 

To  all  tlie  good  horses  that  I  have  ever  owned,  who 
by  their  fidelity  have  won  my  regard,  who  by  their 
devotion  have  secured  a  place  in  my  afiections,  who 
have  obtained  for  their  race  my  best  eJBTorts  and  desires, 
and  whose  names  fill  my  heart  with  the  tenderest  of 
memories,  I  desire  to  express  my  obligations  for  the 
lesson  which  I  have  recorded  here. 

GEO    B.  LORING. 


PEDIGREES  or  NOTED  HORSES. 


PEDIGREES  OF  NOTED  HOESES. 


431 


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432 


THE  PEKFECT  HORSE. 


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PEDIGREES   OF   NOTED   HORSES. 


433 


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434 


THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 


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PEDIGREES  OF  NOTED  HOESES. 


435 


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436 


THE  PERFECT  HOESE. 


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PEDIGREES  OF  NOTED  HORSES.  437 


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438 


THE  PERFECT  HORSE. 


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PEDIGREES  OF  NOTED  HORSES.  439 


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440 


THE  PERFECT  HORSE. 


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PEDIGREES  OF  NOTED   HORSES. 


441 


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442 


THE  PERFECT  HORSE. 


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PEDIGREES  OF  NOTED  HORSES. 


443 


It" 
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444 


THE  PERFECT  HORSE. 


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PEDIGREES  OP  NOTED  HORSES.  445 


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446  THE  PEEFECT  HOUSE. 


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PEDIGREES  OF  NOTED  HOESES. 


447 


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HOW  TO  LAY  OUT  A  MILE  TRACK. 

Select  a  level  field  of  42  acres :  draw  through  the  centre 
of  it  a  straight  line  of  440  yards  (a  quarter  of  a  mile).  On 
each  side  of  this  line,  and  at  an  exact  distance  of  140  yards 
from  it,  draw  parallel  lines  of  equal  length,  so  that  the  space 
between  the  two  outer  lines  will  be  280  yards.  This  being 
done,  drive  a  stake  at  each  end  of  the  centre  line ;  fasten  a 
cord  thereto ;  extend  the  cord  at  right  angles  for  140  yards 
until  it  touches  the  end  of  the  outer  line,  and  then  describe 
with  the  extreme  end  of  the  cord  an  outer  curve  or  semi- 
circle between  the  ends  of  the  two  outer  lines.  You  will 
then  have  the  shape  you  want ;  the  continuous  outer  line 
describing  it  being  exactly  a  mile  (1,760  yards)  in  length, 
divided  into  four  sections  of  a  quarter-mile  (440  yards)  each, 
and  enclosing  42  acres  of  ground.  From  this  outer  line,  or 
track,  set  the  fence  of  the  course  three  feet  back  on  the 
straight  sides  and  curves.  In  this  way  an  exact  mile  (as 
near  as  may  be)  is  preserved  for  the  actual  foot-track  of  all 
the  horses.  In  brief,  then,  mark  out  for  your  course  a  paral- 
lelogram of  440  yards  long,  and  280  yards  wide,  with  curves 
thrown  out  at  the  ends,  of  equal  length  with  the  sides,  and 
you  have  the  course  you  want.  The  first  distance-post  is 
placed  60  yards  from  the  judges'  stand ;  the  second  at  240 
yards ;  and  the  start  is  60  yards  before  entering  the  turn. 
The  track  should  be  graded  round  the  turns  like  the  track 
of  a  railroad  or  circus,  the  outer  portion  highest,  so  that  a 
horse  can  extend  himself  at  full  speed  as  well  around  the 
turns  as  on  thQ  straight  sides. 


GALLEKY  OF  CELEBEATED  HOESES. 


GALLERY  OF   CELEBRATED   HORSES. 

In  respect  to  the  horses  whose  description  and  pedi- 
grees are  herein  presented  to  the  public,  I  would  say 
that  they  were  selected  by  the  author,  independent  of 
the  publishers,  and  solely  because  of  their  merits. 
While  I  do  not  propose  to  say  that  no  horses  which  do 
not  appear  in  this  book  are  not  worthy  of  patronage,  — 
for  there  are  many  of  great  excellence  in  the  stud  not 
included  in  this  list,  —  my  idea  was  to  bring  together  a 
list  of  truly  great  stock-horses,  according  to  my  under- 
standing of  what  constitutes  greatness  in  horses  kept 
for  breeding-purposes,  and  without  the  fear  or  favor 
of  any,  and  as  devoid  of  prejudice  as  the  mind  of 
man  may  be.  Unknown  to  the  publishers  of  this  work 
and  the  owners  of  the  horses,  certain  were  selected 
as  worthy  in  every  respect  of  public  patronage  ;  in 
short,  such  horses  as  I  would  confidently  breed  from 
myself 

Regarding  them  in  this  light,  I  cordially  recommend 
them  to  the  breeding  public.  I  wish  it  to  be  under- 
stood that  the  words  with  which  they  are  advertised  are 
those  of  their  respective  owners,  not  mine. 

THE  AUTHOR. 

459 


460  THE  PERFECT  HORSE. 


TAGGART'S  ABDALLAH. 
Foaled  1859.     Bred  and  owned  by  D.  M.  Taggart,  Goffs- 
town,  N.H. 

PEDIGREE  IN  FULL. 

Taggart's  Abd ALLAH.  —  Sire,  Farmer's  Beauty;  dam, 
Lady  Mack. 

Farmer's  Beauty.  —  Ch.  h. ;  foaled  1842 ;  got  by  GifFord 
Morgan,  son  of  Woodbury  Morgan ;  dam,  a  mare  that  was 
called  a  Messenger  at  that  day.  Her  sire  was  spoken  of  as 
Grey  Messenger,  and  sometimes  Freeman's  Messenger,  which 
was  a  son  of  Ogden's  Messenger.  Bred  by  Dr.  Thatcher, 
Wells  River,  Vt. ;  purchased  ISU  by  D.  M.  Taggart,  Goffs- 
town,  N.H. 

Lady  Mack.  —  Ch.  m. ;  foaled  about  1843  ;  got  by  the  fa- 
mous Abdallah  ;  dam  by  imp.  Trustee,  2601 ;  g.  d.  not  traced, 
but  known  to  be  from  racing-stock.  Bred  by  Dr.  Conover, 
Freehold,  N.J. ;  sold  to  J.  Doty,  and  by  him  to  W.  McRob- 
erts.  New  York ;  then  to  Jos.  L.  Noyes,  Lowell,  Mass. ;  then 
to  E.  T.  Northend,  Newbury ;  then  to  J.  E.  Remick,  New- 
buryport,  Mass.  Repurchased  by  J.  L.  Noyes,  and  bred  to 
Thurston's  Young  Black  Hawk ;  sold  to  Dr.  Dean  Robinson 
of  West  Newbury  ;  and,  after  raising  two  colts,  sold  to  J.  O. 
Loring,  N.  Andover,  Mass. :  from  Mr.  Loring,  in  1854,  she 
went  to  S.  W.  Hopkinson,  Bradford,  Mass. ;  and  in  1856  to 
D.  M.  Taggart,  GofPstown,  N.H. 

GiFFORD  Morgan.  —  Foaled  1824 ;  got  by  Woodbury 
Morgan,  son  of  the  original  Justin  Morgan ;  dam  by  Henry 
Dundas ;  g.  d.  said  to  be  by  True  Briton  ;  g.  g.  d.  by  imp. 
Wildair.  Bred  by  Ziba  Gifford,  Tunbridge,  Vt.  Died  at 
Walpole,  N.H.,  1850.  This  was  one  of  the  best  of  his 
family. 


GALLERY  OF  CELEBRATED  HORSES.         461 

Abdallah.  —  B.  h. ;  foaled  1825  ;  got  by  Mambrino,  1449 
(son  of  imp.  Messenger) ;  dam,  Amazonia,  by  a  son  of  imp. 
Messenger,  1562.  Bred  by  John  Tredwell,  Esq.,  near  Ja- 
maica, L.  I.  Different  authorities  do  not  agree  on  this 
horse's  age  ;  some  making  him  as  early  as  1823,  others  as  late 
as  1826.  He  was  owned  by  John  W.  Hunt,  Lexington,  Ky., 
1840,  and  brought  back  to  Long  Island  the  next  year.  Died 
1852  at  Gravesend,  L.I. 

DESCRIPTION. 

Taggart's  Abdallah  stands  fifteen  hands  three  inches  high ; 
weighs  1,050  pounds  ;  clean,  rangy,  thorough-bred  look,  bright 
dappled  bay  color,  coat  like  satin,  a  fine  disposition.  At  the 
New-England  Fair  at  Manchester,  1870,  in  soft  condition, 
trotted  his  mile  in  2.28,  and  repeated  a  half  in  1.121.  jjg 
has  shown  his  trotting-qualities  in  several  public  purses.  At 
Saugus,  Mass.,  Providence,  R.I.,  Hillsborough  County,  for  a 
purse  for  all  horses,  he,  in  every  instance,  distanced  his  com- 
petitors. He  is  without  speck  or  blemish,  and  a  model  of 
perfection ;  and,  more,  he  is  the  sire  of  the  best  trotting- 
family  in  New  England. 

For  further  information,  address  D.  M.  Taggart,  Goffs- 
town,  N.H.     (See  portrait,  p.  64.) 


462  THE  PEHFECT  HOESB. 

LIVE  OAK. 
The  property  of  W.  H.  H.  Murray,  Guilford,  Conn.  Live 
Oak  is  in  color  a  rich  mahogany  bay  with  black  points.  He 
stands  a  little  short  of  fifteen  hands  and  a  half  in  height, 
weighs  1,100  pounds,  and  is  of  very  spirited  and  noble  appear- 
ance. His  muscular  development  is  most  extraordinary ;  so 
much  so  as  to  distinguish  him  among  horses  noted  in  this 
respect.  He  has  never  been  trained  or  driven  for  speed, 
but  moves  with  the  squarest  trotting-action.  In  ability  to 
transmit  his  likeness,  and  way  of  going  to  his  offspring,  he 
resembles  his  Morgan  ancestors.  He  was  bred  in  Danville, 
Vt. ;  and  is  now  ten  years  of  age,  just  past.  He  is  regarded 
by  his  owner  as  every  way  worthy  of  public  patronage. 

PEDIGREE. 

Live  Oak  was  sired  by  Morrill ;  he  by  the  Jennison  horse ; 
he  by  One  Eye  ;  he  by  Bulrush  Morgan ;  he  by  Justin  Mor- 
gan, founder  of  the  Morgan  family.  The  dam  of  One  Eye, 
the  great-grandsire  of  Live  Oak,  was  sired  by  the  Farrington 
horse  ;  he  by  the  Vance  horse  ;  he  by  Messenger.  The  dam 
of  the  Vance  horse  was  Garland :  and  she  was  sired  by  Du- 
roc ;  he  by  imported  Diomed.  Garland's  dam  was  Miller's 
Damsel,  sired  by  Hambletonian ;  he  by  imported  Messenger. 
Young  Miller's  Damsel's  dam  was  Miller's  Damsel,  sired  by 
imported  Messenger,  out  of  imported  PotSos  mare. 

It  will  be  observed  that  Live  Oak,  on  his  sire's  side,  runs 
back  through  three  strains  to  imported  Diomed,  and  also 
three  strains  to  imported  Messenger. 

The  dam  of  Live  Oak  was  sired  by  the  Judivine  horse ; 
he  by  Vermont  Champion  ;  he  by  Vermont  Morgan  Cham- 
pion ;  he  by  Sherman ;  he  by  old  Justin  Morgan.  (See  por- 
trait, p.  32.) 


GALLERY  OP  CELEBRATED  HORSES.  463 


DANIEL  LAMBERT. 

The  celebrated  trotting-stallion  Daniel  Lambert  is  kept  at 
the  Cream-hill  Breeding  Farm,  Shoreham,  Vt. 

DESCRIPTION. 

Daniel  Lambert  was  foaled  in  1858.  His  color  is  chest- 
nut, with  one  white  hind-foot,  and  mane  and  tail  of  lighter 
hue,  and  of  extraordinary  fineness  and  beauty.  He  is  very 
fine  drawn  in  his  limbs,  neck,  and  head.  He  is  called,  by 
those  competent  to  judge,  one  of  the  most  beautiful  horses 
in  America.  In  trotting-action  he  is  simply  perfect.  His 
record  as  a  three-year-old  was  2.36.  As  a  stock-horse  he  is 
having  extraordinary  success.  He  transmits  his  beauty  and 
speed  to  his  colts.  If  any  doubt  this  statement,  we  invite 
them  to  come  and  look  at  his  stock. 

PEDIGREE. 

Sire,  Ethan  Allen,  by  Vermont  Black  Hawk,  by  Sherman 
Morgan,  by  Justin  Morgan. 

Dam,  Fanny  Cook,  by  Old  Abdallah,  by  Old  Mambrino, 
by  imported  Messenger.  Fanny  Cook's  dam  was  by  Old  Amer- 
ican Star,  by  Old  Eclipse.  Fanny  Cook's  grand-dam  was  by 
Red  Bird,  by  Old  Red  Bird,  by  Old  Eclipse. 

For  further  information,  address  A.  C.  Harris,  Shoreham, 
Vt.     (See  portrait,  p.  192.) 


464  THE  PEEFECT   HOESE. 


MORGAN  ABDALLAH. 

Owned  by  W,  H.  H.  Murray,  and  kept  at  his  farm,  Guil- 
ford, Conn. ;  where  samples  of  his  stock  can  be  seen. 

DESCRIPTION. 

Morgan  Abdallah  is  of  rich  bay  color,  beautifully  dap- 
pled with  jet-black  points.  At  four  years  of  age  he  is  fifteen 
hands  and  one  inch  in  height,  and  weighs  a  thousand  pounds. 
His  disposition  is  perfect.  From  the  day  he  was  foaled  he 
has  been  remarkable  for  his  beauty.  His  admirers  pronounce 
him  the  handsomest  colt  they  have  ever  seen.  He  is  a 
natural  trotter.  When  twenty-six  months  old  he  trotted 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  in  forty-five  seconds,  and  repeated  it  in 
forty-three  without  a  break.  He  had  never  been  shod,  and 
had  been  harnessed  only  twenty  times.  Possessing  a  large 
share  of  Morgan  blood,  he  transmits  his  qualities  to  his  proge- 
ny.    We  recommend  him  with  confidence  to  the  public. 

PEDIGREE. 

Sired  by  Taggart's  Abdallah  ;  he  by  Farmer's  Beauty ;  he 
by  Gifford  Morgan  ;  he  by  Woodbury ;  he  by  Justin  Morgan. 
Morgan  Abdallah's  dam  was  sired  by  Morgan  Tiger ;  he  by 
Cock  of  the  Rock ;  he  by  Sherman  ;  he  by  Justin  Morgan. 
His  grand-dam  on  the  sire's  side  was  sired  by  Old  Abdallah : 
his  grand-dam  on  the  dam's  side  was  sired  by  imported 
Bellfounder. 

For  further  information,  address  head  groom,  Alexander 
Good,  Guilford,  Conn.     (See  portrait,  p.  352.) 


GALLEEY  OF  CELEBRATED  HOUSES.  465 

HARVARD. 
Owned  by  Peter  B.  Bradley,  Boston,  Mass. 

DESCRIPTION. 

Harvard  is  four  years  of  age,  and  is  fifteen  and  a  half 
hands  in  height.  His  weight  is  one  thousand  pounds ;  and  he 
is  of  beautiful  dark  chestnut  color,  with  white  blaze  in  the  face. 
He  is  a  horse  of  great  muscular  development,  and  of  faultless 
action  when  in  motion.  He  is  a  natural  trotter  ;  was  able, 
when  a  three-year-old,  to  trot  a  mile  in  three  minutes  without 
professional  driving  or  training.  As  a  roadster  and  gentle- 
man's driving-horse  he  cannot  be  excelled.  He  is  of  docile 
but  spirited  disposition  ;  which,  Avith  his  trotting-action,  he 
transmits  to  his  colts.     We  invite  attention  to  his 

PEDIGREE. 

Harvard  was  sired  by  Quinipiac  ;  he  by  Green's  Hambleto- 
nian.  Green's  Hambletonian  was  full  brother  to  the  cele- 
brated horse  Volunteer.  His  first  dam  was  sired  by  the  noted 
horse  Leviathan,  which,  although  kept  for  the  stud,  has  a 
record  of  2.26  to  saddle,  and  of  2.30,  2.301,  2.31,  in  three 
heats  to  wagon.  Second  dam  was  a  fast-trotting  Messenger 
mare.  Leviathan  w«is  sired  by  Flying  Cloud ;  he  by  Hill's 
Black  Hawk.  Leviathan's  dam  was  sired  by  imported  Levi- 
athan. 

For  further  information,   address  Peter   B.    Bradley,    24 
Broad  Street,  Boston,  Mass.     (See  portrait,  p.  256.) 
so 


466  THE  PERFECT   HORSE, 

RYSDYK. 
Owned  by  CM.  Pond,  Hartford,  Conn. 

DESCRIPTION. 

Rysdyk  is  a  beautiful  bay  with  black  points.  Height, 
fifteen,  two  and  a  half;  and  weighs  1,050  pounds.  In 
structure  he  is  the  picture  of  great  muscular  power ; 
while  in  appearance  he  has  almost  the  fineness  of  a  thor- 
ough-bred. In  temperament  and  disposition  he  is  faultless ; 
full  of  fire  and  gentleness.  Representing  as  he  does  the  union 
between  the  best  trotting-family  and  best  running-family  of  the 
country,  he  responds  fully  to  his  high  breeding.  Through  his 
dam  he  is  connected  with  the  Diomed  blood,  which,  mingled 
with  the  Messenger  blood,  has  produced  the  highest  results 
American  breeding  has  achieved.  We  invite  special  attention 
to  the  pedigree  table. 

PEDIGREE. 

Sire,  Rysdyk's  Ilambletonian,  by  Abdallah.  First  dam, 
Charles  Kent  mare,  by  imported  Bellfounder ;  second  dam, 
One  Eye,  by  Bishop's  Hambletonian  ;  third  dam,  Silvertail,  by 
imported  Messenger. 

Abdallah,  by  Mambrino  ;  he  by  Messenger.  Dam,  Amazo- 
nia, by  Messenger. 

Bishop's  Hambletonian,  by  Messenger.  First  dam.  Pheas- 
ant, by  imported  Shark ;  second  dam,  by  imported  Medley. 
Dam  of  Rysdyk,  by  the  famous  Lexington. 

[I  regard  this  horse  as  full  proof  of  my  views  touching  the 
crossing  Hambletonian  with  a  thorough-bred.  In  my  opinion, 
he  is  one  of  the  very  best  colts  the  old  horse  ever  sired.  — 
Author. '] 


GALLERY  OF  CELEBRATED  HORSES.         467 

Second  dam,  Magdalen,  by  Medoc  ;  third  dam,  Keph's  dam, 
by  Sumpter ;  fourth  dam,  by  Lewis's  Eclipse  ;  fifth  dam, 
Maria,  by  Craig's  Alfred ;  sixth  dam,  by  Tayloe's  Bellair ; 
seventh  dam,  by  imported  Medley. 

Lexington,  by  Boston.  Dam,  Alice  Carneal,  by  imported 
Sarpedon ;  second  dam,  Rowena,  by  Suilipter ;  third  dam. 
Lady  Grey,  by  Robin  Grey ;  fourth  dam,  Maria,  by  Melzar. 

Medoc,  sire  of  Magdalen,  by  American  Eclipse.  Dam, 
Young  Maid  of  the  Oaks,  by  imported  Expedition ;  second 
dam,  Maid  of  the  Oaks,  by  imported  Expedition ;  third  dam, 
Annette,  by  imported  Shark. 

American  Eclipse,  sire  of  Medoc,  by  Duroc,  son  of  im- 
ported Diomed.  Dam,  Miller's  Damsel,  by  imported  Messen- 
ger. 

Sumpter,  by  Sir  Archy,  son  of  imported  Diomed.  Dam, 
Robin  mare,  by  imported  Robin  Redbreast. 

Lewis's  Eclipse,  bred  by  Horatio  Turpin,  Virginia,  by  im- 
ported Diomed.  Dam,  by  Harris's  Eclipse  ;  second  dam,  by 
imported  Granby  ;  third  dam,  by  imported  Janus ;  fourth 
dam,  Poll  Flaxen,  by  imported  Jolly  Roger ;  fifth  dam,  im- 
ported Mary  Grey,  by  Roundhead. 

Craig's  Alfred,  by  imported  Medley.  Dam,  by  Symme's 
Wildair ;  second  dam,  by  Sloe ;  third  dam,  by  imported 
Valiant. 

Tayloe's  Bellair,  by  imported  Medley.  Dam,  Selima,  by 
Yorick ;  second  dam.  Black  Selima,  by  imported  Fearnaught ; 
third  dam,  imported  Selima,  by  the  Godolphin  Arabian. 

For  further  information,  address  C.  M.  Pond,  Hartford, 
Conn.     (See  portrait,  p.  160.) 


468  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

FEARNAUGHT,  JUN. 
Owned  by  David  Nevins,  jun.,  Framingham,  Mass. 

DESCRIPTION. 

Fearnaught,  jun-.,  is  of  beautiful  chestnut  color,  with  one 
white  foot  behind,  and  small  stripe  in  the  forehead.  He  is 
fifteen  and  a  half  hands  in  height,  and  weighs  1,050  pounds. 
He  has  never  been  trained  for  the  turf  since  he  was  a  colt, 
when  he  showed  speed  of  the  very  first  order  ;  but  the  public 
know  that  his  ability  as  a  trotter  to  go  very  fast,  and  stay,  has 
never  been  doubted.  Fearnaught  has  left  no  other  son  so 
noted,  or  apparently  so  likely  to  perpetuate  the  family  name 
in  honor.  In  disposition,  Fearnaught,  jun.,  is  remarkably 
amiable  ;  and  his  success  in  the  stud  has  been  worthy  of  him- 
self and  his  ancestors.  His  colts  closely  resemble  him  in 
color,  action,  and  courage.  Indeed,  as  a  stock-horse,  his 
fame  is  already  secured. 

PEDIGREE. 

Fearnaught,  jun.,  was  sired  by  Fearnaught ;  he  by  Young 
Morrill ;  he  by  Old  Morrill ;  he  by  the  Jennison  horse  ;  he 
by  One  Eye  ;  he  by  Bulrush  ;  he  by  Justin  Morgan.  (For 
further  pedigree  in  the  male  line,  see  Tables  V.  and  XXIX.) 

Dam  of  Fearnaught,  jun.,  is  said  to  be  by  Old  Abdallah. 
Of  this,  evidence  by  affidavit  is  lacking  ;  but,  from  all  we  can 
ascertain,  it  is  entirely  worthy  of  credence. 

For  further  information,  address  David  Nevins,  jun.,  Fra- 
mingham, Mass.     (See  portrait,  p.  224.) 


GALLERY  OF   CELEBRATED   HORSES.  469 

THOMAS    JEFFERSON. 
Owned  by  William  B.  Smith,  of  Hartford,  Conn. 

DESCRIPTION. 

Thomas  Jefferson  is  jet-black  in  color,  with  beautiful  silky 
coat,  and  a  white  star  in  his  forehead.  He  is  fifteen  hands 
and  a  quarter  in  height,  and  weighs  nine  hundred  and  fifty 
pounds.  He  is  a  naturally-gaited  trotter,  and  one  of  the  fast- 
est.in  the  country.  Of  his  speed  and  staying  qualities  the 
public  can  judge  by  the  fact  that  he  trotted  a  third  heat  at 
Prospect  Park  in  June,  also  a  third  heat  at  Hampden  Park 
in  August,  1871,  with  ease,  in  2.25^. 

As  a  stock-horse,  Jefferson  is  a  success ;  the  majority  of 
his  colts  being  able  to  beat  three  minutes  at  four  years  old, 
and  many  of  themat  three  years  old  :  besides,  they  possess  this 
crowning  capacity,  —  that  of  training  on  like  their  sire,  with- 
out flinching.  For  temper,  soundness,  speed,  and  stoutness, 
they  cannot  be  surpassed.  His  capacity  to  produce  fast  and 
famous  colts  from  common  mares  has  been  fully  established ; 
and  I  will  endeavor  to  convince  any  and  all  of  this  truth  who 
wdll  take  the  trouble  to  call  on  me. 

PEDIGREE. 

Toronto  Chief,  the  sire  of  Jefferson,  is  brown,  sixteen  hands, 
sound  and  handsome;  a  natural  trotter,  with  a  record  to 
saddle  of  2.24i.  He  is  the  first  horse  that  ever  trotted  a  half- 
mile  in  1.08J  in  a  public  race. 


470  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

Gypsy  Queen,  the  dam  of  Jefferson,  is  black,  fifteen  hands 
and  a  quarter ;  handsome,  with  the  exception  of  light  tail ; 
being  famous  at  the  West  as  a  perfect  "  stayer,"  and  a  winner 
at  three,  five,  and  ten  miles.  In  her  last  ten-mile  race  she 
was  beaten  less  than  a  length  by  Capt.  McGowan,  in  28.11. 
She  was  purchased  by  Thomas  J.  Vail,  at  Louisville,  Ky.,  of 
Bidwell,  a  Western  trainer  and  driver,  who  represented  that 
Gypsy  was  sired  by  Wagner,  and  her  dam  by  Glencoe.  She 
was  perfectly  sound  when  put  to  breeding. 

For  further  information,  address  William  B.  Smith,  Hart- 
ford, Conn.     (See  portrait,  p.  96.) 

[As  in  the  case  of  Rysdyk,  because  both  are  owned  in  my 
native  State,  and  therefore  of  peculiar  interest  to  me,  as  to 
all  Connecticut  breeders,  I  have  felt  at  liberty  to  call  their 
special  attention  to  this  horse.  He  is,  beyond  doubt,  the  fast- 
est stock-horse  ever  owned  in  the  State,  and  one  of  the  fastest 
in  the  country.  —  Author.'] 


GALLERY  OF  CELEBRATED  HORSES.         471 

FEARNAUGIIT. 
Lately  owned  by  Col.  II.  S.  Russell,  Home  Farm,  Milton,  Mass. 

(Pedigree.  —  See  Table  XXIV.) 

DESCRIPTION. 

The  engraving  on  page  8  is  an  admirable  likeness  of  the 
celebrated  stallion  Fearnaught,  whose  recent  death  at  Milton 
must  be  a  disappointment  to  all  who  are  interested  in  improv- 
ing the  stock  of  New  England,  as  well  as  to  those  who  sym- 
pathize specially  with  the  efforts  at  Home  Farm  to  encourage 
the  breeding  of  fine  horses  in  this  part  of  the  country. 

Fearnaught's  public  record  was  2.23J  at  Buffalo  in  1868, 
when  he  beat  some  of  the  horses  now  most  prominent  on  the 
trotting-turf ;  and,  without  considering  his  speed,  we  may  well 
mourn  the  loss  of  a  stock-horse  which  had  the  power  of  giv- 
ing to  his  progeny,  in  very  great  degree,  the  beautiful  form, 
action,  and  speed,  which  placed  him  first  in  the  list  of  the 
favorite  horses  of  New  England. 

His  last  victory  was  at  the  New-England  Fair  of  1872, 
when  he  received  the  first  premiums  and  gold  medal  offered 
for  the  best  stock-horse  ;  and,  when  the  trustees  barred  him 
from  competing  this  year,  they  little  thought  he  could  not  be 
present  to  receive  the  praise  of  those  who  had  grown  to  re- 
gard him  as  the  common  property  and  pride  of  New  England. 
But,  while  lamenting  the  loss  of  this  noble  horse,  it  must  be 
remembered  that  he  has  left  a  numerous  family  at  his  last 
home,  some  of  whom  will  doubtless  successfully  fill  his  place: 
for,  during  several  years,  he  has  been  bred  to  mares  carefully 
selected  from  different  parts  of   America  and  Europe,  the 


472  THE  PERFECT   HORSE. 

mingling  of  whose  blood  with  that  of  Fearnaught  ought  to 
give  stock-horses  equal  if  not  superior  to  their  sire  ;  and  great 
care  will  be  taken  in  selecting  the  one  to  stand  at  the  head 
of  the  farm  with  which  the  name  of  this  famous  horse  has 
been  so  closely  associated. 


GALLERY  OF  CELEBRATED   HORSES.  473 

STAR  OF  THE  SOUTH. 
A  TROTTING  THOROUGH-BRED. 

It  gives  me  sincere  pleasure  to  call  the  public's  attention 
to  the  horse  Star  of  the  South,  bred  in  Virginia,  and  now 
in  my  possession  for  stock-purposes.  Our  opinion,  formed 
after  a  thorough  examination  of  his  pedigree,  himself,  and  his 
get,  is  positive,  and  to  this  effect,  —  that  he  has  every  requisite 
excellency^  and  is  the  most  perfect  horse  ive  have  ever  seen. 

In  vindication  of  this  opinion  we  offer  the  following :  — 

1.  He  is  of  the  purest  blood.  In  every  branch  and  line  of 
his  ancestry  he  is  thorough-bred. 

2.  His  beauty,  both  in  respect  to  symmetry  of  form  and 
brilliancy  of  color,  exceeds  that  of  any  stallion  we  have  ever 
seen. 

3.  In  docility,  intelligence,  and  courage,  he  is  a  king  among 
horses. 

4.  He  is  a  natural  trotter. 

5.  Se  transmits  his  beauty  and  splendid  action  to  his  off- 
spring. 

In  this  horse  there  are  the  following  excellences,  —  purity 
of  blood,  beauty,  symmetry  of  form,  docility,  intelligence, 
resolution,  a  splendid  trotting-action,  and  the  power  to  trans- 
mit all  of  these  marks  to  his  progeny.  If  this  horse  has  these 
qualities  to  the  degree  that  we  assert  he  has,  he  is  a  most 
remarkable  animal.  The  reader  is  invited  to  visit  his  stable, 
and,  by  personal  inspection,  decide  for  himself  whether  he  has 
or  has  not.  In  addition  to  the  accompanying  portrait  (see 
page  384),  we  append  the  following  verbal  description:  — 

Star  of  the  South  is  a  rich  golden  chestnut,  of  the  most 
sheeny  and  brilliant  color,  with  one  white  ankle,  and  a  clear 
white  star  in  the  forehead.  He  is  fifteen  and  three-quarters 
hands  in  height,  and  weighs  eleven  hundred  pounds.  He  is 
a  horse  of  great  muscular  substance,  and  perfect  symmetry  of 
form.  His  feet  and  limbs  are  perfect,  while  his  neck  and  head 
are  such  as  are  usually  found  only  in  pictures.     He  is  ten 


474  THE  PERFECT  HORSE. 

years  of  age,  and  without  a  physical  blemish  or  a  fault  of 
temper. 

PEDIGREE. 

Star  of  the  South  was  sired  by  Revenue,  sire  of  Planet, 
Sue  Washington,  Fanny  Washington,  and  many  other  racing 
celebrities.  Revenue  was  foaled  spring  of  1843  by  imp. 
Trustee,  dam  Rosalie  Somers  by  Sir  Charles  (son  of  Sir 
Archy)  ;  2d  dam,  Mischief  by  Virginian  (son  of  Sir  Archy)  ; 
3d  dam  by  imp.  Bedford  ;  4th  dam  by  Tayloe's  Bellair  ;  5th 
dam  by  imp.  Shark  ;  6th  dam  by  Symme's  Wildair ;  7th  dam 
by  Lexington  of  Va. ;  8th  dam  by  Spanking  Roger;  9th 
dam  by  imp.  Jolly  Roger;  10th  dam  by  imp.  mare  Miss 
Bell.  Lady  Fairfield,  the  dam  of  the  Star  of  the  South,  is  by 
Herald  (he  by  English  Plenipotentiary,  dam  imp.  Delphine 
by  Whisker)  ;  2d  dam,  Betsey  White  by  Goliah ;  3d  dam 
by  Sir  Charles  ;  4th  dam  by  Sir  Alfred. 

A  horse  that  can  trace  his  blood  through  such  ancestors  as 
Revenue,  imp.  Trustee,  Sir  Archy,  Symme's  Wildair,  imp. 
Fearnaught,  and  others  of  almost  equal  note,  needs  no 
further  indorsement  among  horsemen,  or  better  introduction 
to  the  favorable  attention  of  breeders. 

To  gentlemen  owning  thorough-bred  or  well-bred  mares, 
desirous  of  raising  a  perfect  saddle-horse  ;  to  those  who,  hav- 
ing trotting-mares,  wish  to  cross  them  with  a  horse  which 
will  be  sure  to  give  to  their  foals  beauty  and  high  courage  ; 
and  to  breeders  who  are  looking  for  a  cross  by  which  to  en- 
rich their  cold-blooded  dams  with  a  warmer  current,  —  we 
especially  commend  this  horse. 

For  further  information,  send  for  circular.  Address  Alex- 
ander Good,  head  groom,  Guilford,  Conn. 

W.  H.  IL  MURRAY. 


INDEX. 


I  ]sr  D  E  X, 


B. 

PAGE. 

Blood,  the 22 

Bones,  the      .        ,        .        .        ,        .        ,        ,        ,        ,        ^  28 

Bones,  size  vs.  strength  of .        .  28  29 

Bones,  canon          .         ,         ,         .         ,         , 38  39 

Bones,  the  size  of  .        , 39 

Back,  the ,        ,  43 

Back,  length  of      .         . ,        ,  4g 

Backs,  weak '     •        .        .         ,        .  48  49 

Back ;  how  strengthened 5152 

Breeding,  principles  of 72 

Breeding,  non-success  of 73   74 

Breeders,  ignorance  of 74   75 

Breeding,  causes  of  failure  in 77 

Breeding  remunerative           , 7g 

Breeding,  how  to  succeed  in 8q 

Breeding,  law  of 233 

Bitting  a  colt 2^3 

Bitting-machines 164 

B'tlking 177 

Breaking 209 

C. 

Color ,       ,        ^       ^       ^       ^  Ig 

Chest,  the ^  20 

Chest ;  how  related  to  speed 26  27 

475 


476  INDEX. 

*  PAGE. 

Curb 61^  62 

Colt,  the;  his  relation  to  the  family 154   155 

Colt,  the,  how  to  halter-break 155 

Colt,  the,  education  of 159 

Colt,  the,  how  taught  to  draw 161 

Colt,  the,  how  taught  to  back 162 

Colt,  the,  how  to  bit 168 

Colt,  the,  true  method  of  educating 1 70 

Colts,  vicious ^        ,  1 71 

D. 

Dam,  the,  influence  of 139 

Dam,  value  of  blood  in  the    .        .        .        .        ....        .  141 

Dam,  value  of  9,  pedigree  of  the    .        .        .        ......  142 

Dam,  size  of I43 

Dam,  temperament  of    .....     .        .        .        .        .        .  145 

Dam ;  how  treated  in  foaling          .        .        .        .        .        .        .  148 

Driving  ia,  colt ,        ,        .  201 

Driving,  over ,  205 

Driving,  how  to  hold  the  lines  in 206 

E. 

Ete,  the       .        .        .        .        ,   ' 15 

Ear,  the 16 

Elbow,  the 44 

Exercise-ground,  value  of 187 

Exercise-ground,  use  of 188 

Exercise,  up-hill 197 

F. 

Forehead,  the    ,        .        . 17 

Fore-leg ,         .         ,         .         .       36,  37 

Fore-feet 42 

Feet,  size  of  .         . 42 

Foot,  shape  of       .         ...        .        .        .        ....  43 

Frog 43 


INDEX.  477 

PAGE. 

Foaling,  treatment  of  mare  before 84 

Foaling,  the  treatment  of  mare  in 85 

Foal,  the ;.  how  treated ,         ,        .        ,  150 

Foal,  the,  diet  of   .         .         .        . 151 

Foal,  the,  protection  of .        .        ,  152 

Foot,  the        .... 226 

Foot,  the,  popular  ignorance  of 232 

Foot,  the,  easily  understood 233 

Foot,  the,  sense  of  touch  in    . 234 

Frog,  paring  of 240 

Frog,  use  of  . 241 

Foot,  non-expansive       .        .        .        .        .        .        .        .        ,  243 

Foot,  bars  of .         . 244 

Flat  foot,  how  to  treat  a  .      .        . 25  7 

Fitting,  hot  and  cold      .        .         .         . 282 

G. 

Generation,  theory  of 96 

H. 

Head,  the ,  10 

Head,  description  of  the 12 

Hock,  the 60 

Horse,  highly-organized ^  7g 


I. 

Inbreeding j3^ 

Inbreeding,  effect  of I35 

Inbreeding,  limitations  and  rule  of         .        .        .        ,        .        ,  137 


J. 
Jibbing,  or  running  backward ,  1 73 

K. 

Knees,  the 45 

Kicking 27g 


478  INDEX. 

L.  PAGE. 

Long  backs  .        . 49, 50 

Lungs,  use  and  value  of 184 

Lungs;  how  developed 186 

Lungs;  relation  to  speed 189 

Lines  ;  how  to  be  held •      .        .  218 

M. 

Morgan,  Justin,  as  a  stock-horse 91 

Muscles;  how  strengthened 193 

Muscles,  back •        •        •  195 

Morgan  horses 292 

Morgan,  Justin,  pedigree  of •         •  293 

Morgans,  beauty  of  the 296 

Morgans,  docility  of  the 297 

Morgans,  endurance  of  the    ....••••  298 

Morgans,  speed  of  the 298 

Morgan,  Justin,  description  of 305 

Morgan,  Sherman,  history  of 319 

Morgan,  Woodbury,  history  of 325 

Morgan,  Bulrush,  history  of 330 

N. 

Neck,  the ^^ 

Nails,  the 278 

Nails;  how  driven •       •  ^^^ 

P. 

Pasterns,  the '*^'  ^^ 

Perfect  horse,  size  of  the 

Paring,  evils  of 2^®»  ^^^ 

Q. 

Quarters,  hind 


Rump,  the 


R. 

55 


INDEX.  479 

S-  PAGE. 

Shoulder,  the 30 

Shoulder-lameness 34,  35 

Shoulder,  muscles  of  the         .         .         .         .         ,         ,         ,         .  35,  36 

Spavin,  cause  of 63,  64 

Sire,  the 89 

Stock-horses;  how  judged 95 

Sire,  influence  of 102,  103 

Stallions,  low-bred 105 

Stallions,  vicious    ..........  1Q7 

Stallion,  natural  and  artificial  state  of   .         .         .         .         .         .  •     log 

Stallions;  what  ones  to  avoid         . HI 

Stallions,  proper  age  of ,        .  114 

Stallions,  health  of 116 

Speeding,  how  to  drive  in 212 

Shoers,  ignorance  of 230 

Sole,  inner 234 

Sole,  danger  of  paring  .       * 237 

Shoeing,  errors  in 248 

Slipping ;  how  prevented 253 

Shoe,  crescent-shaped 253 

Shoeing,  instructions  in 255 

Shoes,  thin 263 

Shoes,  error  in  construction  of 275 

Shoe ;  how  constructed 277 

Shoe ;  how  fitted  to  the  foot 281 

Shoes,  heavy.         ••....•,,,  287 

Stable  and  stalls;  how  made          •••••..  289 

T. 

Temperament,  four  kinds  of 4 

Temperament,  nervous 4 

Temperament,  bilious 45 

Temperament,  sanguine 5  g 

Temperament,  lymphatic g 

Temperament,  importance  of,  in  breeding 7 

The  thigh gg 


480  INDEX. 

PAGE. 

Trotting  action  vs.  vital  force 117 

Trotting,  open  gait  in 118 

Thorough-breds,  relation  of,  to  breeding 124 

Thorough-bred,  definition  of 125,126 

Thorough-bred  trotting-horse 129 

Tips 274 

W. 

Withers. ^2,  33 

Weight-pullers ^^1 

IFAoa,  useof 18^ 

IF/ioa ;  how  taught  to  a  colt 1^1 

Work,  slow 19^ 


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